In 1889, two years after the C.F. Sauer Company was formed by her husband, Olga Sauer took an oversized marketing display for their bottled extracts to the State Fair of Virginia and won first prize. That led to Sauer attending trade shows all over the world to promote the brand.
In 1929, 12 years after beginning a sandwich-making business that used her homemade mayonnaise, Eugenia Duke sold her mayonnaise factory to The C.F. Sauer Company. She continued to act as the brand’s spokesperson until 1950.
Fast-forward 70 years, and both of these iconic brands are promoted by a team of four women led by Erin Hatcher, who developed her love of cooking while stationed with the Army in Italy. As marketing director of Sauer Brands Inc. since 2007, she works with her team to help set the strategy for Duke’s, The Spice Hunter, and Sauer’s extracts, flavorings and spices.
During the COVID-19 crisis, Sauer was in a position to help home cooks stretch pantry staples, and the marketing team supported that through their Duke’s Date Nights, which suggested a Southern movie with an accompanying recipe, and Duke’s Dishes for Donations Campaign, which features live Facebook and Instagram videos led by New Orleans-based chef Mason Hereford.
For every viewer during Hereford’s sessions, Sauer is making a gift to the Southern Smoke Foundation’s Emergency Relief Fund. The company also donates to Richmond-based organizations fighting hunger, such as FeedMore and Shalom Farms. And every three months, Hatcher and her team use Sauer products to make a meal for guests at the Ronald McDonald House on Monument Avenue.
“I take really seriously what drew me to C.F. Sauer,” Hatcher says. “That above all, integrity is the most important characteristic, and that you must set the example with actions, not words.”
