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\f0\fs24 \cf0 Podcasts on UNCTV.org are made possible by contributions from viewers like
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Kelly Mc: Mount Olive, North Carolina has enjoyed a special, eighty-plus year relationship
with the cucumber.[Natural Sounds of cucumber slicing] Kelly Mc: Farmers in the 1920's would
bring produce to market in Mt. Olive. They worried their cucumbers would rot before being
sold. So, some locals gathered money and started Mount Olive pickles to save those cucumbers
and help farmers. The strategy worked and the company's made careers for generations
of locals. Ray Joyner \'96 I grew up in the Mt. Olive area. I'm within 12 miles of where
I was born. In fact, I was born on the family farm. I still live on the family farm. So,
it's home. Mt. Olive is home. Kelly Mc: Mt. Olive pickles previously sold under many brand
names but consolidated under this logo in the late 19-60's. A design tweak here and
there as been offered but the Mt. Olive pickle look has stayed the same. Kelly Mc: Grandma's
refrigerator had \'93that\'94 in it [points to label], had this lid on it and it stands
out. Why keep that? Why does that tradition mean so much? Lynn Williams: Well, this look
\'96 we've had this look since 1967 when this label, this logo, was developed for us and
its, like you say, something people have grown up with. It means \'93pickle.\'94 My children,
when they would see the pickle truck go by, they'd say, \'93Mom, there's the pickles\'94
Kelly Mc: Mount Olive Pickles are eastern U-S favorite.Bill Bryan \'96 We're the second
best-selling brand of pickle in the United States but we're the best-selling brand in
the Mid-Atlantic and the Southeastern states. We outsell the next best-selling brand by
a margin of 5 to 1. Kelly Mc: Mount Olive's market reach is nationwide. Bill Bryan \'96
We find our products in all 50 states today but there is a lot of opportunity to continue
to gain new customers in the Northern and Western market places and we're going to continue
to persue those opportunities. Kelly Mc: Reaching all fifty states successfully, requires special
pickle recipes for specific regions. Lynn Williams: We do a lot of the spicier items
\'96 our jalapenos, our hot n' spicy kosher dills; those things are really popular in
Texas and Louisiana.Kelly Mc: New York?Lynn William: Ahmmmm........Kelly Mc: I'm challenging
you here.Lynn Williams: I know you are. A couple of items we pack up there are our Polish
kosher dills that aren't available here in the Southeast and our Sweet India relish.
There's something about our Sweet India Relish that's just available in the Northeast. Kelly
Mc: The balance of nationally popular pickle varieties with region-specific products helpe
Mount Olive weather the worst of the recession and mark modest gains recently. LJ Manley-It's
scary to a lot of the workers around here. They think because the economy is bad, they
think we would go down, but we just kept on and kept on and we got through that. So, we're
still trying to make it better every year. Bill Bryan \'96 We can continue to grow our
business. We have lots of markets where we don't have the market shares that we'd like
to obtain in the U-S. We have a strong core market in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern
states. Kelly Mc: The pickles have a home on store shelves in our region. But pickle-making
is uniquely \'93Mount Olive\'94 - in terms of the company and town itself. Ray Joyner
\'96 Our management and our board of directors wants to keep Mt. Olive Pickle a part of Mt.
Olive and a part of Eastern North Carolina. It's true, we could probably offshore but
management and owners of the company, stockholders, want Mt. Olive Pickles to stay in Mt. Olive.
Kelly Mc: Company officials say the mix of human workers and technology keeps their operation
economically competitive as an North Carolina-based company. Bill Bryan \'96 We are totally focused
on pickles, relishes and peppers. That allows us to do a good job with the quality of those
products and supplying our customers.LJ Manley \'96We're not going to ship out nothing that's
not quality. That's why quality is job #1 for us. Kelly Mc: Innovation-wise, are there
new styles of pickle coming out? Are you experimenting with new recipes or do you find what works
traditionally and that's what we want and don't mess with it?Lynn Williams: Well, pickles
have been around for about four thousand years so there's not a whole lot different that
you can do with the product itself. Kelly Mc: And there's not a whole lot the people
I met say they want changed about Mount Olive Pickle. It's worked over 80 years. Why change
anything?Ray Joyner \'96We are a family. Now, there are many other industries in Wayne County
and surrounding counties, but there's something about being a part of Mount Olive Pickle.
It's almost like when you eat your first pickle. You're hooked. So, I love it! \
}