Local Egg Company Wins Big Despite Super Bowl Contest Loss
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A small Minnesota company is back in the national spotlight.
Last fall, Locally Laid Egg Company was in the running for a free Super Bowl advertisement through Intuit's "Small Business Big Game" contest.
The small Wrenshall-based business came in second out of 15,000 contestants after a nationwide vote. While the company didn't win, the owners of Locally Laid Egg are still very happy with the outcome.
At the Linden Hills Co-op, one shelf of the refrigerator section gets a lot of attention.
"I have to say the name caught my attention," said Jane Jefferson of the Linden Hills Co-op. "It was very clever."
The company has a name that sticks with you, and it's also one that customers may hear often over the next several weeks.
The company will have a nationwide commercial airing as the consolation prize of the Super Bowl contest.
"I don't have any regrets," said co-owner Jason Amundsen. "I wish I could have brought it home for Minnesota, and that was hard."
But Amundsen believes he's still very much a winner. The attention of the competition is already showing its reward.
"We've had enormous demand for our product, not just in Minnesota, but we're expanding," he said.
Every week, Amundsen gets new orders from restaurants and retailers. Stores that have the eggs can't always keep the product on the shelves.
"The customer response has been extremely positive," Jefferson said.
Plans are now in motion to grow from one small Wrenshall farm to an additional seven by year's end, with locations in neighboring states.
"It's a big step off of a tall diving board, every day," Amundsen said. "But it's not dull."
And while the commercial is helping with brand recognition, he believes it's the message of locally-sourced, pasture-raised food that's leaving the lasting impression.
"From there, the sky is the limit," Amundsen said.
Locally Laid Eggs are sold in about a dozen stores around the Twin Cities. Click here to see a list of locations.
