Kerry Wood, owner and founder of Kerry Wood Healthy Foods at Whole Foods in Westport.
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Kerry Wood, owner and founder of Kerry Wood Healthy Foods, grew up in New Orleans where the food is among the planet”™s best, but she turned to Tuscany for her initial success in retail salad dressing.
“In New Orleans cooking isn”™t exactly the healthiest but it has incredibly wonderful, bold tastes,” said Wood. Rather than give up the unhealthy dishes, “I would come up with my own recipes that had the great flavor, but are much healthier.”
After helping her father in their New Orleans kitchen, Wood became part of the music promotion business. She has worked for a number of record labels, a trajectory that brought her first to New York City and then five years ago to Westport where she continues to promote music.
Wood developed her dressing a year ago, originally for her children. It is now sold in Whole Foods and markets between Fairfield County and New York City.
“There”™s so much stuff in our food system that you don”™t really want to eat,” said Wood. “I try to make really healthy choices for myself and my children. I think you can have great healthy food but you can also have wonderful taste and for me one without the other doesn”™t work. I”™m always trying to find that perfect combination.”
Wood said she spends hours doing research on the advantages and disadvantages of food products.
“Most of my career has been in the music business, calling radio stations promoting music,” said Wood. “That was my great love and passion for so many years. The music business is going through a lot of changes. So many industries are right now, so I thought what better time than now to pursue my other love, which is my food.”
Wood said a lot of the skills she used in the music industry apply to her new industry.
“I feel like I”™m working a hit record,” she said. “Working it up the charts and bringing it success and trying to get people to experience it. I”™m doing a similar thing, surrounding it with marketing and promotion. Where I used to be calling the program directors, now I”™m calling the store managers and buyers. It”™s like working my own little hit.”
In the summer of 2008 Wood worked with a food specialist and a nutritionist and developed her dressing, called Taste of Tuscany.
Wood sold her dressing first at the Westport Farmers Market and, with positive responses, was taken on by Whole Foods in Westport.
“It”™s one thing to have friend and family tell you that they love something; it”™s another to have strangers,” said Wood. “The reaction was amazing, I sold everything that I had and after doing that for a couple of weeks, I felt that was enough of a response to go for it.”
Wood found a professional bottler and her husband Bruce Borner, a graphic artist, designed the labels. The couple”™s teenage son Liam is her number one muse and taste tester.
“Liam makes these hot and spicy sauces, you”™d think he was the one from New Orleans,” said Wood. She has received many stories of kids eating salad and greens for the first time because of the dressing.
Wood”™s bottles sit in the refrigerated section of produce in Whole Foods under the signage, “Locally Produced” in locations in Westport, Greenwich, White Plains and Columbus Circle in Manhattan.
“Anything made in the tri-state area, people love that,” she said. “It”™s a local dressing it”™s not being transported across the country. I think a lot of people really want to support that.”
Wood said she will debut her second dressing flavor in the next couple of months.
“The line will keep growing,” she said. “I”™d like to get into other products later on.”
Wood said the dressing can also be found at area markets such as Palmer”™s in Darien, Walter Stewart”™s in New Canaan, Village Market in Wilton and The Pantry in Fairfield.
“I”™m just growing as I go,” said Wood. “I think it”™s a great time to start because I really don”™t know what it was like when it was going great. I”™m just starting and I”™m basing my business model on the current economic condition, so as it improves getting my dressing out there will be easier.”
Wood said people are eating at home now more than ever and are looking for products that are delicious, healthy and convenient. “My whole purpose is to simplify and make people”™s lives easier,” she said. “It”™s a different flavor than most of the other dressings.”
The makings, without giving any of her secrets away, include olive oil, parmesan cheese, garlic and soy sauce.
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