Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/454570
40 | I NSIGH T • F e b r u a r y 2 0 15 w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m W hen Oilerie USA owner Curt Campbell appeared on ABC's "Shark Tank," it might've seemed a little bit like he became fish food. No, they didn't give him the $500,000 funding he sought to help expand his franchise business. But he did receive an amount of exposure equal to what some experts say was $4 million to $5 million in advertising. Aer October's eight-minute segment, Campbell saw a boost in online sales traffic of about 600 orders. And to date, Campbell has Fish Creek's Oilerie USA gets franchise attention after national TV appearance Oil boom in focus { s m a l l b u s i n e s s } B y N i k k i K a l l i o received inquiries from 350 franchise prospects. e company, which saw sales of $3.1 million in 2013, currently has seven franchise stores under the umbrella of Oilerie USA in addition to its two home stores in Fish Creek and Green Bay, which are under the name Curt's Spice Co. and Oilerie LLC. e new Green Bay location opened in September and already had more than $100,000 in sales. e company continues to grow at a rate of about 8 to 9 percent, Campbell says. Customers visiting Oilerie USA will find stainless steel containers of different flavors of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, which they can sample before taking home in special bottles. Campbell and his wife Amy Jo got the idea for Oilerie USA aer visiting a store in Europe that sold olive oil in a similar way. Campbell opened the first olive oil store in the U.S. in 2004. Now there are 400 to 500 similar stores around the nation. "We take a lot of pride in that," Campbell says. "Every store that's dedicated to selling olive oil in America — that's all an offshoot of our store in Fish Creek. So we're very proud of that. It's proof that Americans are ready for this concept, and it brought a lot of attention to the Oilerie system." Campbell, a longtime foodie who once sold specialty spice blends out of Curt Campbell of Egg Harbor makes an appearance on the ABC program "Shark Tank" on Oct. 24. Campbell did not secure the $500,000 he requested to expand his franchise business, but the national exposure helped draw interest in his company Oilerie USA, which allows customers to taste extra virgin olive oil before buying and taking the product home in special bottles. C O U R T E S Y O F A B C / K E L S E Y M C N E A L "(The producers) are harvesting olives from trees that are 500 years old, and they would rather cut off their right arm than do anything to that tree that the last seven or eight generations didn't do." – C u r t C a m p b e l l, ow n e r, O i l e r i e U S A