So stupid. A Penzeys Spices insider says founder and CEO Bill Penzey's frequent left-wing rants in emails to customers have lost the company more than half of its retail business over the past five years. 6 Places to Put on Your Southeastern Wisconsin Bucket List. They married in 1957. We cant be sure about how many customers he actually lost, as we rely on his own statements. National Spice Retailer That Called Republicans Racist Asks Customers Whether by nature or nurture, he became very much his own man. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? "It was significant," the insider says. the end of the message, he mentioned the companys Column: Does racism make you too stupid to be a cop? Bill Penzey is a businessman best known for being the chief executive of Penzeys Spices, a prominent American food company. Always the heady smell of spices - tarragon from France and cinnamon from China and other delights - perfumed the street. Even better, they make a Bavarian seasoning! 10 Accomplishments of the First Two Years of the Biden-Harris Administration. Penzeys Spices has not yet responded to a request for comment on the insider's claims or how Penzey's rants have impacted the company's sales. The tipping point for me was after Trump s election in 2016 when Bill Penzey called every person that voted Republican a racist. "[Penzey] brags about how many people are on our email list, but I can tell you that the overwhelming majority of them aren't actually customers," the insider explains. Trying to get them to become regular customers is the trick., In the meantime, Penzey shows no signs of slowing his political activism. the first to publicly call Trumps election an embrace of racism, and focus on the food industrys sexual-harassment problem. One of the ads read, This week the curtain was finally pulled back on how deeply un-American the Republican Party has become.. "My father is a complex man. A freelance reporter covering crime, community and social issues, Ethan Duran is based in Milwaukee. "In 2017, our retail operations department flat out . She started at the Los Angeles Times in 1998, previously covered multiple presidential, state and local races, and completed a Knight-Wallace fellowship at the University of Michigan in 2019. Its an unusual and risky move for any business; most typically try to avoid alienating half their customer base. Shortly after President Trump was elected as the 45th President of the United States, Penzey's Spice Company founder and CEO Bill Penzey took to Facebook to accuse his supporters of embracing racism.. As he stands behind an imaginary banner of "love and unity," the arrogant little CEO Bill Penzey can't help but reveal how little tolerance he has for anyone who disagrees with his views. Its unusual to have someone be so vocal, said Pradeep Chintagunta, a marketing professor at the University of Chicagos Booth School of Business. What's his net worth? The American people are taking notice. Penzeys Spices CEO Bill Penzey renamed the weekend celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. as "Republicans are racists weekend" in a promotion for his company. A week after Donald Trump was elected the forty-fifth President of the Bill Penzey has a thriving spice business in spite of, or perhaps because of, his unapologetically left-leaning political statements. Mixing politics and parsley: Why this spice seller spent $700,000-plus on Facebook ads for Trump's impeachment. Penzeys Spices wants to 'loot' Kenosha store in support of protests Over the past decade, Penzey has repeatedly followed up controversial emails with offers for free spices in an apparent effort at winning back customers. But I think weve all got enough generosity to go around., People are going to give to the area theyre most passionate about, Walton said. This isnt a line that we chose to cross. Penzey's email not only accused all Republicans of being racist, but also of fantasizing about killing black people.