As seen on TV! ‘Parks and Rec’ highlights local food
A very small Indianapolis food company with the odd distinction of being devoted to the crock pot is getting a product placement on the next episode of a major network sitcom. The exposure could greatly accelerate business at U Relish, said its owner and sole employee, Cara Dafforn, and in fact already has accelerated it some.
The firm (meaning: Dafforn) sells healthy, just-add-water-and-heat meals out of a booth in the City Market. The writers of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” needed a Hoosier product to feature in an episode about a farmer’s market. The episode airs at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Jan. 23.
The TV show is set in fictional Pawnee, Indiana and frequently gives nods to Hoosier culture. One character wears a Reggie Wayne Colts jersey; another professes admiration for former Indiana University basketball coach Bob Knight; and the cast members, who play Pawnee government employees, have attended state-wide conferences in Indianapolis. Two episodes have been filmed in Indianapolis, at Lucas Oil Stadium and at St. Elmo Steak House.
“I think the crock pot is very Hoosier,” Dafforn said. It’s also sort of funny, the crock pot, and something right up the TV show’s absurdist alley.
Dafforn’s product is sold in bags, each containing three servings, that people take home and put into crock pots then eat for dinner. In a typical day she sells between six and 12 bags. The food contains no preservatives, Dafforn said.
Her product comes in 30 flavors, including one that formerly went by Garlic Paprika Chickpea but that, to take advantage of the publicity, she recently changed to Pawnee Chickpea.
Companies sometimes pay thousands of dollars to have their products appear in TV hows and movies, but Dafforn paid nothing (her total annual revenue is only about $35,000, she said).
Cincinnati-based Kroger recently learned of the upcoming product placement and wanted in. The supermarket chain bought 300 bags of Pawnee Chickpea from Dafforn and plans to sell them through special displays in conjunction with Thursday’s program, said Greg Heck, a Kroger staffer. “We hope to have it all up and running by Friday,” Heck said. And if the Pawnee Chickpeas move quickly, he said, “this may be something we want to delve into further.”
Dafforn happens to watch “Parks and Recreation.” Her favorite character is Ron Swanson, the mustache-wearing boss who hates government and loves deer hunting, wood working and Coach Knight.
Contact Star reporter Will Higgins at 444-6043. Follow him on Twitter @WillRHiggins.