Behind the Print with Rader Foods
Welcome to the latest episode of Behind The Print, where we bring you the creative stories of industry leaders shaping the world of professional printing. In this episode of Behind The Print, we’re joined by Marketing Manager of Rader Foods, Tasha Domena. With expert level knowledge of marketing within the gourmet food industry, Tasha walks us through how she uses print to make fine dining possible on an international level.
Below, you’ll find the transcript of our conversation, edited for clarity to ensure easy reading. If you want the full, authentic experience, make sure to check out the video attached below.
Connor Shields: Welcome back to Behind the Print Podcast where we feature industry leaders and uncover the creative minds and their businesses within the world of professional printing. Our mission is to provide you with inspiring actionable resources that elevate your business projects and accelerate your journey to excellence in profit and in print. Today’s episode is my Sweetest Design Yet, and joining me here today is the marketing manager of Rader Foods, Tasha Domena, welcome to the podcast.
Tasha Domena: Hi. So glad to be here. Thank you for having me.
Connor Shields: Thank you for joining us! What can you tell me about the gourmet food professionals you typically serve?
Tasha Domena: So we work with everyone from a tiny in-home bakery, your corner bakery, all the way up to the high end restaurants, hotels, and grocery stores. So we work with whole Foods, we work with Publix. We also work with The Hard Rock Hotel. So really large, entities like that, but also small, businesses like little bakeries as well. So a very wide range. Our main location is in Miami, and we go all the way across the us. We’ve actually done a lot of work with the islands, in the last few years, like the Bahamas,
Connor Shields: What are some common challenges that your customers typically face?
“We work with everyone from a tiny in-home bakery, your corner bakery, all the way up to the high end restaurants, hotels, and grocery stores.”
Tasha Domena: I would say the storage temperature of the different products. We do sell a lot of chocolate, and a lot of times the chocolate will melt in the heat.
Connor Shields: How do you go about helping them overcome these challenges?
Tasha Domena: So because we work with, I believe it’s over 30, 40 different brands that are global. We do have some brands that actually are out of France. We get shipments from them, from their products to our warehouse that we would distribute out across America and the islands. So is someone makes an online inquiry on our website saying “Can we get this product?” and they’re not in our shipping area, we generally will guide them to the vendor themselves, if they’re close enough.
Connor Shields: So how does Rader Foods stand out from other gourmet food suppliers?
Tasha Domena: We all say is knowledge is our secret ingredient. We pride ourselves on knowing our product and knowing what it does. Also, we pride ourselves in knowing our customers and what they need. All of our sales reps have so much pastry knowledge. A bunch of them have been chefs in the past or have worked in bakeries, so they know the everyday struggles, of ordering, trying to keep the desserts that they’re making high end, and working with high end products. So I think that what really sets us apart is that we have that knowledge and we are constantly adding to that knowledge. Learning more about the brand, learn more about their new products
Connor Shields: It sounds like you have some very in-depth knowledge about your clientele, having worked in the industry.
“We all say is knowledge is our secret ingredient. We pride ourselves on knowing our product and knowing what it does. Also, we pride ourselves in knowing our customers and what they need. All of our sales reps have so much pastry knowledge. A bunch of them have been chefs in the past or have worked in bakeries, so they know the everyday struggles, of ordering, trying to keep the desserts that they’re making high end, and working with high end products.”
Tasha Domena: We have lots of in-depth knowledge, especially our the sales reps. One of our sales reps moved up to being a sales manager now. He was a chef for many years, working with restaurants and hotels. And so having him as our manager now has really been great because he has that really deep rooted knowledge.
Connor Shields: Were there any major milestones that Rader Foods has achieved in the last five years?
Tasha Domena: One of our biggest milestones is that we are celebrating now 55 years. We started in 1970. Karl Rader. He was born in Austria. He’s the owner of the company and his wife Dagmar Rader is still with the company now. Also another really big milestone is around 2019 or 2020 we hit 10 million in sales. We were stagnant there for a little while, and then now, ever since then, we’ve actually just been going up every single year in sales, whether it’s another million or 2 million each month.
Connor Shields: Did the pandemic have an impact on your business?
Tasha Domena: It did. We did lose customers since nobody was eating out. But I think since Rader is in the food industry, we were able to keep going. I think that desserts are different. I think it’s different than just a regular food – its something comforting.
Connor Shields: How has print helped you elevate your business?
Tasha Domena: So I came on here into Rader Foods in the summer of 2019 as their marketing manager and I did revamp of their print marketing for products like flyers, invitations, things like that. Because I work with pastries, I get to work with a lot of delicious looking images, so that in itself, I feel like elevates our marketing tenfold. I’m always looking for opportunities to feature a dessert and not just the image of the product. A finished product with the ingredients that Rader supplies.
Connor Shields: Yeah, I was getting hungry Just looking at your printed materials.
“I get to work with a lot of delicious looking images, so that in itself, I feel like elevates our marketing tenfold.”
Tasha Domena: Yes. Oh, I bet. It’s very hard to be on a diet when you work for a dessert company like this.
Connor Shields: So this is a somewhat different question. If you had a free day completely to yourself, how would you spend it?
Tasha Domena: Free day off myself? Well, I just gave birth to my first daughter.
Connor Shields: Congratulations!
Tasha Domena: Thank you. She’s pretty high on my priorities right now, so I would definitely be spending it with her and my husband of course. We’re just a small little family, just the three of us, and we would probably go to the park.
Connor Shields: How can our listeners get in touch with you to learn more or collaborate with you guys on a project?
Tasha Domena: Yeah, so they can go directly to our website, RaderFoods.com. We’re also on Instagram, Facebook at Rader Foods, Inc. or you can contact myself directly, Tasha, tasha@raderfoods.com. And also I wanted to say that we’ve worked with Printing Center USA for several years now. When I first started there in 2019, I saw one of your printed catalogs, and it looked just so pristine in the sense of the printing quality. For us, our catalog is key, it’s all our products, it’s how we get our customers interested in our products. That’s been so helpful and I really love working with you guys.
“We’ve worked with Printing Center USA for several years now. When I first started there in 2019, I saw one of your printed catalogs, and it looked just so pristine in the sense of the printing quality. For us, our catalog is key, it’s all our products, it’s how we get our customers interested in our products. That’s been so helpful and I really love working with you guys.”
Connor Shields: I absolutely, thanks for joining us. We really appreciate it. Well, I’d say that’s a wrap on another episode of Behind the Print. Thank you, Tasha, for joining us, and thank you to our listeners for joining us as we explore the artistry and innovation of the printing world. Okay. Remember, having a strong vision, building the right strategy, and using tools like Print to amplify your message will make your brand stand out from the crowd.
