For Just Peanuts? No way! These brothers sell much more than boiled nuts to their hard-core Southern-food fans.

What: Mail-order snackfoods, Southern-style
Who: Matthew and Ted Lee of LeeBros. Boiled Peanuts Catalogue
Where: Charleston, SouthCarolina
When: Started in 1994

"The idea that you can build a successful business onmail-ordered boiled peanuts is pretty far-fetched," admitsMatthew Lee. "But people grow up in places and develop verystrong attachments to food." For Matthew, that particularsnack of choice is boiled peanuts.

Prior to starting their mail-order business, Matthew and hisbrother, Ted, were living in New York City, trying to establishcareers in art and publishing, respectively. With their professionsgoing nowhere, the pair sought solace in their favorite childhoodtreat-those unroasted peanuts boiled in salty water and thenconsumed by cracking open the softened shells and slurping out thecontents. But when Matthew couldn't find any in New York, itdawned on him that other transplanted Southerners probably had ahard time finding their favorite Southern foods, too.

So, Matthew, 32, and Ted, 30, moved back to their hometown ofCharleston, South Carolina, to set up shop. Start-upcosts-"entirely bootstrapped," says Matthew-consisted of$20 for a 25-pound box of raw peanuts. After the success of theircatalog, in 1996 the Lee brothers also decided to build a Web site.

Serving a niche market with few competitors has paid off for thecompany, whose 40-product catalog features a variety ofSouthern-style foods, including fig preserves, artichoke relish,pickled peaches and-of course-boiled peanuts.

With $150,000 in sales projected for 2001, they're notmillionaires yet, but these brothers insist they're right wherethey want to be. "We're happy to have this catalog heldclose to us and be privately run," Matthew says. "Ourgoal is slow growth-not Internet riches. I hope this thing is goingto be chugging away 50 years from now."

Scooter Happy

What: Colorful decals forscooters
Who: Tania Calley of BrennickInc.
Where: Laguna Niguel,California
When: Started in 2000

Tania Calley has to be the coolest mom on the block. Sincefounding her business last April, she's brightenedneighborhoods nationwide with her Scooter Tattoos, a line ofcolorful decals for inline scooters. The idea originally struckCalley, 35, as a way to set her son's scooter apart from othersin the neighborhood.

Available in six fun patterns-like Aloha Red and Flower PowerBlue-the easily removable decals retail for about $8 each and aresold at toy and sporting goods stores. Profits are rolling in, andCalley expects $100,000 in 2001 sales.

"It's all about timing and keeping things fresh,"Calley says. "I was quick to act."

Contact Source

• Brennick Inc.
  (949) 240-2538, calleyandco@home.com