Seattle Sorbet Finds Taste Tests Are Best Advertising

No television ads. No radio spots. No billboards.

So how does Larry Banchero, president and general manager of Seattle Sorbet, let buyers know about his no-fat, no cholesterol, ice-creamy line of sorbets?

No problem.

Banchero prefers to hold fort on the front lines - the grocery store freezer bins - and entice shoppers with samples.

"Our advertising is in the pint," Banchero said. "It's a great way to promote. Most of the time when people taste it, they'll want to buy it. . . . It's rare for people to be able to taste a whole line of products in the store, to figure out what they like and what they don't."

So far, his approach works.

Banchero and his two partners, Jon Nowlis and Elgin Penniston, first demonstrated their product in December 1994. Now, 1 1/2 years later, the eight-flavor line of sorbets is available in six states - and counting.

Seattle Sorbet, at about $2.89 a pint, is available at many area supermarkets.

The line includes alcohol-enhanced flavors such as Tequila Lime and Electric Lemonade (amaretto and vodka), but don't think you need to be 21 to buy a pint. The state liquor board gave its blessing, because the alcohol content is less than 1 percent.

But, tasters pick up on the punch, both from the alcohol and 1/2 cup of fruit packed into the pint.

"(The flavors) are pretty intense," said Barbara Sancken, a first-time taster. "You can really taste the alcohol in some of them," she added with a laugh, "and that can be good or bad, depending on who you're serving it to."

The idea for adding alcohol came in the summer of 1993, when Columbia Winery asked them to participate in a dessert show. The result was Blueberry Zinfandel and Blackberry Cabernet. Nonalcoholic flavors in the line include Dark Sweet Cherry (made with Yakima cherries), and Italian Strawberry (made with Willamette Valley strawberries and fresh basil). Two non-fruit flavors, Coconut and Chocolate Espresso, complete the line.

Sancken and her three daughters were just a few of the many shoppers who were pursuaded to buy a pint after Banchero's demonstration.

"They're much more refreshing than ice cream," commented 13-year-old Lauren.

The demand for fat-free products is one reason Banchero and his partners decided to manufacture sorbet. They've had considerable experience with food: Banchero exports food to Japan, and his family has been in the business for 60 years, formerly owning E & E Meats in Seattle. Penniston was a buyer for E & E, and Nowlis was a chef at the Oyster Grotto and most recently in the seafood department at a local market.

"We had extensive food background, so it was really a matter of, `What are we going to do?' " Banchero said. "I went to food brokers and asked, `Where's the hole?' "

They decided on sorbets, spent 18 months working on the formulas, and three weeks prior to launching the line Banchero noticed a billboard.

"It read something like, `Zero percent fat, one hundred percent Haagen Daas,' " he said. "At first we were frustrated, because food has its trends and waves, but we felt we were ahead of the curve. . . . Actually it's been beneficial because they spent tons of ad dollars, and people used to ask us, `What's sorbet?' and now we get asked that a whole lot less."

With ice creams, frozen yogurts and sorbets, the market for frozen treats is pretty crowded - but that doesn't faze Banchero.

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