To hear Tom Indoe, tell it, he and Paul Newman spent a lot of time checking out the salads at Westport’s McDonald’s on Post Road East before launching their latest venture this week.
Indoe is chief operating officer of Newman’s Westport-based Newman’s Own food company and made his remarks in an interview with cable news channel CNBC.
Newman’s Own and McDonald’s on Monday announced an exclusive agreement in which Newman’s Own all-natural salad dressings will be served with McDonald’s new Premium Salads in restaurants nationwide starting March 24.
Asked by the interviewer whether Newman or his company had any hesitation linking up with the fast-food retailer, Indoe said any concerns they had went away after repeated samplings of salads at the Westport McDonald’s.
Details of the alliance are available on the Newman’s Own site.
Background on Indoe and his extensive experience in the food industry (RJR Nabisco and Del Monte) can be found in an interview he gave several years ago to the online marketing journal Reveries.com.
It includes such tidbits as the fact that when he arrived at the company, it had no budget, and that Newman had a plaque in his office that read, “If we ever have a plan we’re screwed.”
