Mystic spells deli is a unique establishment that caters to individuals seeking magical solutions to their problems. This one-of-a-kind deli merges the world of mystical spells and cuisine to create an extraordinary experience for its customers. Located in a quaint, hidden corner of the city, Mystic spells deli offers a wide range of enchanted dishes that are said to possess special powers. From love potions to luck-enhancing soups, customers can find a variety of items on the menu that are believed to bring positive changes to their lives. The deli is run by a team of skilled spellcasters who have honed their craft over years of practice. These talented individuals infuse their meals with ancient charms and incantations, aiming to bring desired outcomes to their customers.
The secret to cracking the big-name stores is to position yourself as unique, according to Greenfield. At many supermarket deli counters, Mystic Chips are the only potato chip sold.
The hand-packaged bags of chips are still sold at the Seaport in season, and you can still buy them at local places such as Mystic Pizza and Stonington Pizza. He started Ben Greenfield Associates, a marketing company, and while working at that, producing newsletters, he embarked on a cooperative venture with the Seaport.
These talented individuals infuse their meals with ancient charms and incantations, aiming to bring desired outcomes to their customers. Each dish is carefully prepared and includes a detailed description of its magical properties, allowing patrons to choose the spells that suit their needs. One popular item on the menu is the "Enchanted Elixir," a mystical drink made from rare ingredients and imbued with a potion designed to boost energy and attract success.
HOPES FOR MYSTIC CHIPS NO SMALL POTATOES
There’s a war raging in the snack food aisles of supermarkets throughout this peaceful land of ours. Prices are being slashed like so many crinkle cut potatoes. And grocers are letting the chips fall where they may.
Procter & Gamble’s Pringles is breathing its salty breath down the neck of Frito Lay’s Ruffles. O’Boises and Wise are throwing punches. Pork Rinds, Rolled Gold Pretzels, and Tato Skins want in on the action too. Even Mr. Phipps Pretzel Chips, lurking around the corner in the cracker aisle, is panting for a piece of snack food gold.
And where is our local boy, that young upstart, Mystic Chips? He’s way over in the high-rent neighborhood, the deli department. He’s keeping company with meats and cheeses with fancy sounding Italian names. Sometimes he even has his own rack.
By going to the deli, Mystic Chips has gone where Eagle’s — and other potato chips — do not. Like the cheese in the farmer’s dell, it stands alone.
As they say in marketing, it has got itself a niche.
Ben Greenfield, 35, is president and only full-time employee of this 1 1/2 year-old potato chip company. To avoid what he calls “the mean-spirited, bargain-basement price war” raging in the snack aisle, Greenfield positioned his chip as “a deli chip. ” Whereas snack food aisle residents — such as Frito Lay Double Crunch and Cape Cod potato chips — might sell for 59 cents or 69 cents a bag on a special, Mystic Chips is high-end at $1.69.
Greenfield’s deli strategy seems to have worked. In a short time, he took his company from a small potato to a million-dollar-ayear potential.
He first started making the chips in July 1991 at the Mystic Seaport Museum, where he sold 1,000 bags a week. Children got to see the chips being made, and when they bought a six-ounce bag of hot, fresh potato chips for $2.39, a percentage of the proceeds was designated for education and preservation projects at the Seaport.
The mass-produced chips actually are made in Maine now, but the
money is starting to flow into Mystic.
In August, Mystic Chips got its big break into the chain supermarket scene through the Northeast, a move of major proportions for a small start-up, basically one-person business.
They first went on sale in Waldbaum stores — 15 stores for a tryout, then extended to 40. After that, it went into 30 Food Emporiums in New York followed by 30 Kings stores in New Jersey, and 70 Finast and Edwards stores. In January, Stop & Shop comes on board with 120 stores.
Greenfield will be selling 20,000 bags a week at $1.69 each, and expects by the end of 1993 “to have revenues nudging the 1 million threshold.”
The secret to cracking the big-name stores is to position yourself as unique, according to Greenfield. At many supermarket deli counters, Mystic Chips are the only potato chip sold.
“They are the first chip ever to be sold in our deli,” says Gail Shelton, director of public relations and consumer affairs for eastern division of First National Supermarkets, which includes Finast. Finast stores have been carrying Mystic Chips for six weeks, according to Shelton, who says “they’re selling very well.”
“We don’t get a lot of requests from small companies, and it’s fairly difficult to get a product on the shelves,” she says. “But they approached our deli department, and they had an attractive display rack and it gave them a niche.” “Potato chips are a high-impulse item,” according to Al Rickard, vice president of communications for the Snack Food Association. “So it makes sense to put them in odd places.”
There are about 10 start-up crunchy snack food companies that join his association each year, he says, and it is “very competitive” to get into the big chains.
In addition to Greenfield’s strategy to get his product into the deli department, Rickard thinks it’s “smart marketing” to use the seaport connection.
“It gives the retailer another reason to look at the product,” Rickard says. The hand-packaged bags of chips are still sold at the Seaport in season, and you can still buy them at local places such as Mystic Pizza and Stonington Pizza. A percentage of the sales still go to the Seaport, which made an initial investment of $25,000 to get Greenfield started. The Seaport could realize as much as $10,000 a year, according to Jim Farrell, director of food service operations at the Seaport. Greenfield estimates he’ll make more.
So Greenfield gets the benefit of using the Mystic Seaport name with his product, and the Seaport gets a cut of the action, as well as significant exposure. The Seaport offers passes for employees of the stores carrying the product, and is planning more cross-promotional ideas for the future. And from here, the future looks good.
Counting the Seaport’s $25,000, he estimates it cost a total of $100,000 to start the company, $30,000 of which he borrowed.
Greenfield has lived most of his life in the Mystic area and has a genuine affection for the Seaport. Before starting Mystic Chips, he worked for Abbott’s Seafood, an offshoot of the restaurant Abbott’s Lobsters in the Rough, Mystic. Abbott’s was starting to sell its hot clam chowder and lobster bisque fresh from kettles in grocery stores, and so Greenfield quickly became familiar with the grocery store routine.
Selling hot soup in stores was a new idea that caught on, just as salad bars were taking on a grocery store presence. In two years, Abbott’s went from $75,000 in sales to $4 million in sales, according to Greenfield, who was offered equity there, and held the position of vice president when he left after 10 years.
Greenfield was recruited for a marketing job at Heublein Inc., but it lasted only six months when the department was restructured.
After that loss, he says: “I knew I didn’t want to go back to work for someone.”
He started Ben Greenfield & Associates, a marketing company, and while working at that, producing newsletters, he embarked on a cooperative venture with the Seaport.
He always loved potato chips, he says, and wanted to make a fresh chip, a thicker chip — one that really tasted like a potato. When you ask whether he was inspired by the success story of the Cape Cod chips — a regional favorite that also has a maritime image — he answers that he was more inspired by the possibility of “shaking up the potato chip category.”
When he talked to the Snack Food Association, he found out interesting data that pointed to a strong New England market. For example, in 1989, the average New Englander consumed nine pounds of potato chips, compared with a U.S. average of 5.96 pounds.
In 1991, New Englanders dropped their chip consumption to 6.72 pounds a person; while the national average rose to 6.29 pounds. The decline in New England is attributed to recession and to the rise in pretzel and popcorn sales, according to an association spokesperson. Overall national consumption of snack food is 19.77 pounds a year. Greenfield looked at the statistics and saw gold.
“I was restless, curious, I made it my business to learn how to make potato chips,” he says. “I basically reinvented the potato chip.”
“If you’re a pioneer at something, your basic philosophy is that every product has to have a personality, and every person promoting it has to have a passion for it,” Greenfield says, all the while eating chips.
He is experiencing the sweet — make that salty — smell of success, what he describes as “a kind of humbling, psychic joy.”
Greenfield is, after all, another man who learned how to spell “potato” this year. He just adds a dollar sign at the end.
There’s a war raging in the snack food aisles of supermarkets throughout this peaceful land of ours. Prices are being slashed like so many crinkle cut potatoes. And grocers are letting the chips fall where they may.
Customers often believe that just a sip of this elixir can bring about significant transformations in their lives. Another sought-after dish is the "Love Inducing Pasta," which is rumored to ignite passion and create strong connections between those who consume it. This dish, infused with powerful love spells, is often a favorite among couples looking to deepen their bond or single individuals hoping to find their soulmate. The ambiance of the deli is equally enchanting. Soft, dim lighting and mystical decor create an otherworldly atmosphere that transports guests into a realm where magic and reality blend seamlessly. Soft whispers of incantations can be heard throughout the deli, adding to its mysterious charm. In addition to its unique dining experience, Mystic spells deli also offers personalized spellcasting services. This allows customers to consult with spellcasters privately, discussing their unique situations and receiving tailored solutions to their problems. These services range from banishing negative energies to enhancing personal charisma. Mystic spells deli has gained a loyal following of customers who truly believe in the power of its dishes. Despite skepticism from some, there are countless testimonials from individuals who claim to have experienced tangible changes in their lives after dining at the deli. Whether one believes in the mystical properties of the dishes or not, Mystic spells deli offers a truly extraordinary experience. It combines the joy of dining with the intrigue of magic, creating a memorable adventure for anyone willing to explore the enchanting realm of mysticism..
Reviews for "Enhancing your Deli Selection with the Power of Mystic Spells"
1. John Doe - 1 out of 5 stars - I visited Mystic Spells Deli with high hopes after hearing about their famous sandwiches, but I was utterly disappointed. The service was incredibly slow, and when I finally received my order, the sandwich was a complete letdown. The ingredients were not fresh, and the bread was stale. The whole experience was a waste of time and money, and I will not be returning.
2. Jane Smith - 2 out of 5 stars - Mystic Spells Deli was a huge disappointment for me. The atmosphere was dark and gloomy, making it uncomfortable to dine in. The staff was unfriendly and seemed disinterested in providing good service. The food was average at best, and the portion sizes were small for the price. Overall, I would not recommend this place as there are better options available in the area.
3. Sarah Johnson - 2 out of 5 stars - I had high expectations for Mystic Spells Deli, but unfortunately, they fell short. The menu seemed promising, but the food lacked flavor and was quite bland. The prices were also higher compared to other delis in the area. The staff was not very attentive, and I had to wait a long time to place my order. Overall, it was an underwhelming experience, and I won't be returning anytime soon.
4. Michael Thompson - 1 out of 5 stars - Mystic Spells Deli was a huge disappointment. Not only was the food mediocre at best, but the service was also incredibly slow and unorganized. The staff seemed overwhelmed, and it took forever to get a simple sandwich. The prices were exorbitant for what we received, and the overall experience was highly disappointing. Save your money and find a better deli in town.