Jacquelina's Fine Vinegars and Oils

"Her Success is in the Secret"

The Patriot News - March 2004

"Not like oil and water"

Central Penn Business Journal - October 2001

"The History of Jacquelina's and Her Century Old Recipes."

The Patriot News - December 1997

Her Success is in the Secret
Family recipe pays off for vinegar maker

A Camp Hill woman whose business is based on a "secret family recipe" for sweet wine vinegar has expanded.

Jackie Magaro, founder and chief executive officer of Jacquelina's specialty foods, has added a marinade and an Italian dipping oil to her line of products.

"Marinades and oils are in these days," said Magaro, who makes the sweet wine vinegar, vinegar with seasonings, dipping oil and marinade in her home. "People are marinating fish, poultry, beef, port and vegetables. Some Italian restaurants serve oil to dip bread into instead of putting butter on the bread."

Magaro, the fourth generation of Magaro woman to make the vinegar and other products, said the secret family recipe dates back to Cosenza, Italy, where Marian Lappano taught her daughter, Agnes, how to make it.

At first, I made it for the family or for gifts," Magaro said, "Then I made more. In 1996, I began to market it by selling it at craft shows, food festivals and a few restaurants and stores. People loved it. My business has increased 800 percent since the first year."

She said sales soared after she began exhibiting her products at trade shows and taking orders.

"I've showed at the National Association of Specialty Foods trade shows," she said. "I'll be at its fancy food show in July in New York City and at the Atlantic City Gourmet Food Show in October. Last October, I received that show's Best Specialty Food award, a real honor. I also go to wine festivals, since my vinegar is a product of wine."

Locally, Jacquelina's products are available at Peggy's Silver Spoon at the West Shore Farmers Market in Lemoyne, Pennsylvania Bakery in Camp Hill, Marketplace Gourmet in Hershey, Kitchen Shoppe in Carlisle and at restaurants such as Roberto's Pizza shops, Cantone's Southern Italian Restaurant and Fisaga.

Magaro also takes orders on her Web site-- www.jaquelinas.com -- and ships her products to buyers in about 20 states.

The products are sold in 13-ounce bottles with nutrition labels "because customers want that," Magaro said. Caloric content per tablespoon ranges from 25 calories for sweet wine vinegar to 110 calories for her Oils of Italia.

She recently prepared a list of more than 100 uses for her products, ranging from avocado sandwiches to vinaigrettes.

"I've used the Oils of Italia on my turkey at Thanksgiving and the marinade for stir frying chicken," she said, "My products still are a work in progress."

Peggy Harder, owner of Peggy's Silver Spoon, said Jacquelina's products, "sell real well because they are so good and versatile. We sell the most original sweet wine vinegar, but the dipping oil is real popular, too. I was one of her first distributors. I've watched her business grow."

Magaro spends six to eight days a month in production and the rest of her time in marketing.

"I make 10 gallons of sweet wine vinegar at a time," she said. "I get the wine, which doesn't have any sugar in it, from Mazza Winery in North East Erie County. I add sugar and vinegar and cook it. I'm working on a recipe for sugar free sweet wine vinegar."

Although Magaro has no employees, she said her husband, three daughters and some friends help out.

My husband, who runs Mr. Sandman wood-floor business, and I share an office," she said. She also credited her success to William Musser of Halifax, her chief financial officer and "an excellent" consultant, her food brokers for helping sell the product and her bankers for helping arrange loans.

This business has been an evolution since day one," Magaro said. "I never saw myself doing this. The first batch of sweet wine vinegar I ever made turned out wrong because I didn't understand the cooking process. But I called Aunt Franny and she explained."

Asked to account for the success of Jacquelina's, Magaro smiles and discussed her hands-on approach.

I cook every drop of vinegar myself and bottle and label most of it," she said. "I also build my business, contact by contact. I've made a whole business around three ingredients."

Not like oil and water.
Two businesses and three children keep a Camp Hill husband-and-wife team busy.

Italian sweet wine vinegar and shiny hardwood floors do not have much in common - unless you visit the home of Jacqueline and Anthony Magaro. The couple operates two diverse businesses out of their home in Camp Hill.

Jacqueline Magaro, the proprietor of Jacquelina's Inc., is a specially food manufacturer. In 1996 she began marketing sweet wine vinegar made from a 200-year-old family recipe. She sells mostly to local wholesalers, gourmet shops and restaurants, and over the Internet.

It was difficult acquiring the start-up capital for her business, said Magaro. And progress over the years has been slow. "First and foremost, you need a good product that you believe in," she said. "Find your passion and then the money will follow."

Jacquelina's incorporated in May 2000 after Magaro talked with attorneys and professional consultants who advised her to do so. "I wanted to cover all the bases," she said. Magaro declined to discuss specific revenues, but she did say that since incorporating, wholesale sales have doubled and Internet sales at www.jacquelinas.com have increased by 100 percent.

At the start, Jacquelina's sold only sweet wine vinegar, but in 1997 Magaro expanded the product line to include an oil and vinegar mix, upon requests from trade show consumers. In 1998, Magaro added flavored dipping oil when she received requests from a retailer.

Tom Anderson, owner of Marketplace Gourmet, Hershey, uses Jacquelina's products in his cooking classes.

"It's nice to have a quality product that is local," he said. The gourmet shop specializes in imported items. Anderson carries all three Jacquelina's products, and he said they are good sellers.

Magaro plans to expand her line and move the operation out of the home to increase distribution. She needs a larger space to fill larger orders. It is a challenge being a one-woman operation, she said.

For self-employed Anthony Magaro, time management presents a challenge. "It can be chaotic around here with the two businesses and raising our family, three girls, ages 3, 8, and 15, but our work ethic transcends everything," he said.

AFM Refinishing, a.k.a. Mr. Sandman, a wood-floor refinishing company that caters to the residential industry, has been in business for 17 years. AFM specializes in set up and finishing of occupied and unoccupied residences; lifetime warranties, dust and odor control, mark-free sanding and environmentally safe finishes.

The couple shares office space, as well as business plans.

"We bounce ideas back and forth. It's nice to have another business mind around," said Jacqueline Magaro, who created a radio promo for her husband.

Anthony Magaro, who is the only employee of AFM, said gross sales were $75,000 in 1999 and $150,000 in 2000. Currently sales are up 30 percent over last year's and by the end of 2002, they are expected to reach $250,000.

"It is important to be recognizes as a leader in floor refinishing and expand into other areas where the demographics will support ," said Magaro, who services more than 600 local clients. One of Magaro's largest competitors, who preferred to remain anonymous, agreed that Magaro is a leader in the industry.

Kathleen Rodgers of Mechanics burg recently hired Magaro to refinish her floors. "He did an excellent job," she said. "It was probably the best work we've had done on the house."

THe next step for Mr. Sandman is a venture into franchising. Magaro believes the demographics will support his move. "A franchise will enable me to apply the skills and techniques I've refined as a one-man business and take it to the next level," he said.

Confidence and risk-taking are both challenges and keys to success, Anthony Magaro said. "It is vital to network within the industries, to keep up with technologies, and get advice from professionals," he said. "Engage those resources to guide you."

- Jena Laske

The history of Jacquelina's and her century old recipes.

Don't tell Jackie Magaro that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. The Camp Hill woman, vinegar entrepreneur of the West Shore, says that her vinegar business also is sweet these days.

Jackie Magaro, who produces about 100 bottles of Italian sweet wine vinegar weekly, sells it at mid state festivals and in area stores, farmers markets and restaurants.

Wine vinegar is a popular item these days, said Magaro, who calls her business Jacquelina's. It's one of the hottest new gourmet trends.

Italian sweet wine vinegar is a tasteful drink, and the alcohol of the wine is burned off, so it's safe.

Jackie represents the fourth generation of Magaro women to make the "secret family recipe." It can be traced back to Cosenza, Italy, where Marian Lappano taught her daughter, Agnes, how to make it.

When Agnes "Nanny" Magaro moved to Steelton in the 1930s, she brought the recipe with her. Agnes, paternal grandmother of Jackie Magaro's husband, Anthony, made the vinegar for decades.

"Nanny and Frances Magaro Keller, my husband's aunt, made vinegar for the family's personal use and to give out as gifts," Jackie Magaro said. "Members would use it in salad dressings. When I started dating Anthony and had dinner with his family, I was impressed with the wonderful salads they made. When I found out that they made their own sweet wine vinegar, I thought it was something quite special."

Nanny Magaro, whose special name for Jackie Magaro was "Jacquelina," died in 1987. That left Keller as the only member of the family still making the vinegar. Jackie Magaro again suggested that it should be marketed.

"Frances used to make the vinegar for me," Jackie Magaro said. "Finally, I learned how to make it. At first, I was making the vinegar just for the family and to give out as gifts. Most people who tried it loved it. I realized that we had liquid gold. So I began to make more of it and put it on the market."

She registered her new business with the state Department of Agriculture, had her kitchen inspected and was granted a license. She then produced the vinegar, first selling it at craft shows and later expanding to food festivals.

Now, her Italian sweet wine vinegar is sold at such area outlets as Roberto's pizza shops, Shammo's Quality Foods, Camp Hill; The Kitchen Shoppe, Carlisle, L.H. Gross' Manorette, Lewisberry; and Peggy's Silver Spoon in the West Shore Farmers' Market.

In July, she began to market some of the vinegar with oil and seasonings mixed in which is now available for sale as well.

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