As the Marks family prepared dinner for their regular taco night, their eldest daughter grabbed the taco seasoning packet and began to read the ingredients. Unable to pronounce many of the words, she asked her father for help, who found he couldn’t pronounce them either. After Jay and his wife, Gwynne, did some internet research into these complicated ingredients, they found all the additives that are in most seasonings and learned they aren’t the healthiest option to include in their family meals.
Jay and Gwynne Marks put their heads together and after a lunchtime discussion with scribbles on a beverage napkin, The Marks Trading Company was born.
The Marks Trading Company is a dry goods store that offers locally and regionally sourced spice blends, olive oils, teas, and more, all blooming from a passion for food and a desire to know where their food comes from. They began with just twenty spice blends at an indoor craft show, but after selling over $150 worth of products in one day, Gwynne and Jay knew The Marks Trading Company had a successful future ahead of them.
In March 2018, Gwynne and Jay took their beverage napkin idea to the Lenawee Now Square One competition, where budding entrepreneurs have the opportunity to learn from a mentor, pitch their business ideas, network, and potentially earn a cash prize to launch their business.
Competing against a handful of other creative entrepreneurs, the Marks won the competition and secured funds that allowed them to purchase a tent to use for their stand at the local farmers’ market.
Later that fall, The Marks Trading Company joined the Launch Lenawee program, where entrepreneurs and small businesses can find support through business development services, mentorship, business loans, and networking opportunities. Both Gwynne and Jay Marks have degrees in accounting, so they’re no strangers to understanding the financial aspects of running a business, but still found countless benefits to joining the program- benefits they’re still seeing years later.
“Our biggest takeaway was the networking. We connected with our community and learned what other businesses do,” says Jay Marks. “Launch Lenawee provided mentorship with different business owners and groups in the community. We got to talk about our business, learn about others, and promote them to each other.”
“I would recommend Launch Lenawee to anyone who started a business, who has a business and is stagnant, or businesses that are looking to grow,” says Jay. “These are skill sets you need to learn and develop, and you don’t know what you don’t know. We learned what our customers wanted and had the opportunity to work through those changes.”
After The Marks Trading Company graduated from Launch Lenawee, they were approached by a representative from Busch’s market and were quickly made an incredible offer- to have their products in all 16 Busch stores.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, The Marks Trading Company had just started putting their products online and experienced new challenges. They learned how to adapt to ever-changing economic circumstances and were able to grow by offering porch deliveries and shipping products all over the United States to help people get the items they needed to cook at home while the grocery stores were selling out.
In the spring of 2021, The Marks Trading Company connected with the local Meijer in Adrian and was offered to have their products on the Meijer shelves. While this was an amazing opportunity for growth, The Marks Trading Company found itself in a challenging position, with not quite enough funds to fill the large purchase order for Meijer.
The Marks presented their business and situation to the LION Fund, a group of investors designed to provide entrepreneurs and startups access to the necessary funding to start or expand a small business. The LION Fund was able to help The Marks Trading Company secure funding, scale, and fill the Meijer purchase order.
The Marks Trading Company has achieved astounding success over the years as their small business has grown from just twenty spice blends to selling their products all over the country, with a retail store coming later this year. Growing their small business took time, immeasurable effort, and a little bit of help from Lenawee Now along the way. “Don’t be shy to ask for help, help is available,” says Jay. Lenawee Now is passionate about economic development and helping our local small businesses start, grow, and flourish.
To learn more about the resources Lenawee Now has to offer, visit our Entrepreneur Center or contact us at (517) 265-5141 or info@lenaweenow.org.