A day in the life of a salad dressing maker

Sandy, creator of 'Scarlett and Mustard' dressings, tells us how she went from whipping up marinades at home to selling over 10,000 bottles of dressing a month throughout the UK.

I started selling my homemade salad dressings at local markets in March 2012, and never would have imagined that, 18 months later, my Suffolk-born products would line the shelves of prestigious retailers and be stamped with Great Taste Awards. 

It's a family affair

‘Scarlett & Mustard’ began when I decided to make and sell our favourite family recipes, giving each one a quirky name after a member of the family – ‘Rosie’s Doo Dah Sauce’ is named after my stepdaughter Rosie, who loved my balsamic dressing from an early age but could never quite say ‘balsamic’; and ‘Granny’s Original Tarragon Dressing’ is a cider vinegar based dressing that my granny inherited from her mother, which I in turn will pass on to our children. 

It all started with a stall at our local farmers’ market, which eventually led to having our dressings on the shelves of two or three nearby farm shops. We now make over 10,000 bottles a month, and they’re available at Harvey Nichols food markets, Fortnum & Mason, Harrods, Patridge’s in London, and numerous farm shops and independent retailers across the UK.

English is best

All our dressings and marinades are hand-made using natural ingredients such as English cold-pressed rapeseed oil and Aspall Cyder vinegar. This month we have launched a new range of infused rapeseed oils – ‘Dazed & Infused’ – including ‘Sublime English Truffle Oil’ made with English black truffles. 

We’ve been thrilled with the feedback we’ve had from retailers and customers: “The moment we first tasted Scarlett & Mustard’s dressings we were taken aback by the intensity and freshness of the flavours; which, combined with the innovative labelling, meant we were instantly sold on this range,” said Juliet Sandle, Buyer at Partridges. 

My husband, Julian Pollard, has been involved since the start. He has much experience of running his own small business and now leads sales and manages relationships with all our retailers. We’re both extremely hands-on with the business, from making the dressings to devising new recipes, and giving up weekends with the children to attend food fairs and exhibitions. 

What's in a name?

As for the name (Scarlett & Mustard), that’s all to do with how Julian and I met. It was actually via The Daily Telegraph dating website, and after a lot of silly thoughts by email, and several months later, Julian (who called himself ‘Colonel Suffolk’) plucked up the courage to ring me: "Is that Colonel Suffolk?" I asked. "No, it's Colonel Mustard in the study with the lead piping! Is that Miss Scarlett in the kitchen with the revolver?" Long story short, we got married and now live together in Suffolk with our five children, three dogs, two cats and 15 chickens. 

We have many ideas for future products, which will all use UK sourced, fresh and natural ingredients, with no additives or preservatives. Later this year we will introduce a new range of citrus curds called, ‘The Curd Herd’. This means a lot of hard work and juggling family life, but it’s worth all the sleepless nights and long hours – just like any baby!

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