Crains New York - July 30, 2012 - (Page 21)

HELLUVA TOWN INSIDE PAGE 22 Proof is in the pudding Pudding, that old-fashioned treat, could be heading for a revival in the Big Apple. This month, New York Natural Pudding Co. began rolling out its premium chocolate, salty caramel, banana, French toast and otherflavored creations in about 30 of the city’s gourmet stores. And in August, the Westbury, L.I.-based company will roll out a food truck. “We think we are at the right place, right time,” said co-founder and investor David Smith. “Our product is made very similar to how Mom made pudding on the stove top with milk and cream.” Pudding, unlike the ubiquitous frozen yogurt, can hardly be touted as a healthy alternative, but Mr. Smith knows a thing or two about creamy treats. His family once owned the Dolly Madison and Sedutto ice cream brands, and he owns MaximoPino, a gelato brand made in the Westbury facility where the pudding is produced. The entrepreneur has backed other food concepts, including Rockography Cafe, a music-themed restaurant in the West Village that closed last year. —lisa fickenscher Source Lunch Morris Adjmi is a modern guy Out and About Tyson hits the stage PAGE 23 Deal breakers Unsubscribe Deals, launched two months ago in a Lower East Side apartment, is taking aim at the pesky, daily discount notifications that fill up email accounts faster than the savings in subscribers’ wallets. “The emails just never stop,” said former attorney Edwin Hermawan, who founded the site with his girlfriend, Lea Pische (pictured below). He has invested roughly $5,000. Unsubscribe Deals lets Gmail and Yahoo mail users cancel up to 12 subscriptions with a few mouse clicks. And with a new feature, released in July, people can opt for a weekly deals wrap-up, curated on the site and based on individual preferences. The couple expects the weekly email and other recent add-ons to generate more traffic—20,000 people by 2013, up from 3,200 to date—and revenue. When users buy a deal through the weekly aggregator, some daily deals sites will pay Unsubscribe Deals an 8% to 15% commission. An average daily deal costs $40, he said. The couple has also tried to make the site more interactive for users, who can gripe about their deal misadventures, like: “I bought a Groupon for a spa. They tried to make me do yoga.” —ken christensen GOING PLATINUM: The goal for Bob Pittman and business partner Bertha Gonzalez Nieves was to make their high-end Casa Dragones smoother than the best single malt Scotch. Bob Pittman’s premium tequila makes a splash Radio station break BY MATTHEW FLAMM SMALL SHOT Tequila revenue is up, but the segment is a mere drop in the bucket of 2011 distilled spirits sales. $68.4B courtesy of unsubscribe deals F or wealthy executives, owning a high-end liquor brand can be an expensive hobby that takes the mind off corporate headaches. But for Bob Pittman, the founder of MTV and chief executive of Clear Channel Communications, his ultra-premium tequila, Casa Dragones, is like any of his other businesses. That is, it makes him feel 18 years old again. ¶ Mr. Pittman belongs to a select group of bold-faced names who craft luxury spirits for connoisseurs. They include former Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons, who produces a respected Tuscan See TEQUILA on Page 22 wine, and Dan Aykroyd, who puts out $6.2B Distilled spirits Tequila July 30, 2012 | Crain’s New York Business | 21 buck ennis

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - July 30, 2012

Crains New York - July 30, 2012
Contents
In the Markets
The Insider
Business People
Real Estate Deals
Opinion
Alair Townsend
Greg David
Small Business
Corporate Finance
Classifieds
For the Record
From Around the City
New York, New York
Source Lunch
Out and About

Crains New York - July 30, 2012