Soy Vay products seem to have an almost bewitching power over people.
Some have gotten married because of Soy Vay. Others have packed it up and gone to Europe to market and trumpet the marinade to the uninitiated on that side of the world.
In the world of celebrities, Soy Vay was displayed in Eminem’s award-winning “Slim Shady” video. And the personal chef of the fabulous Cher reportedly regards Soy Vay sauces to be “essential items for healthy eating.”
Eddie Scher, CEO and co-founder of Soy Vay Enterprises, nestled in the Santa Cruz Mountains, still hears dozens of stories like these every week. “The raves just keep adding fuel to our own enthusiasm. You never get tired of it,” Scher said.
The origins of the company go back to 1983, when Scher founded the company with his college pal Heidi Chien in Humboldt County. Ten years ago the company was solid enough that Scher was able to abandon his full-time job as a facilities manager to run Soy Vay Enterprises.
“The accolades are what keep you going,” said Scher, who bought out Chien several years ago (they remain close friends). “When I was a little kid, I remember seeing an interview with John Wayne and the interviewer asked him if he ever got tired of people asking for his autograph. He responded that no, he doesn’t, but he would get tired if they stopped asking for the autographs.”
The woman who gushed about her marinade-induced marriage met her husband after she hoarded every last bottle of Veri Veri Teriyaki in her local supermarket for her grandmother. She said, “He was kind of cute, so I gave him one of my many bottles of Veri Veri Teriyaki. Then a year later, we got married!”
The man who quit his job to sell Soy Vay journeyed from Europe for a vacation in the states, bought a bottle of the sauce, brought it home and “freaked out,” according to Scher, and immediately wanted to start hawking the marinades overseas.
“We try to be very loyal to our customers, not screw anybody over and remain true to our principles,” Scher said, explaining his business and personal philosophy. “We always return calls, emails and letters. People actually can’t believe we do that.”
The human connection and reaching out to others has always been paramount for Scher. Initially he and Chien bottled the marinades themselves and sold them at small co-ops in Arcata and food festivals in Humboldt County. Scher picked the name after a weekend visit to San Francisco.
“I was driving around and playing with names in my head,” he said. “Because my then-partner is Chinese and I’m Jewish, I was thinking soy sauce, oy vay, and then it came to me: Soy Vay.”
Chien hand-wrote Soy Vay in Chinese characters that still adorn each bottle of Soy Vay products.
All five Soy Vay marinades — the Cha Cha Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing & Marinade, Veri Veri Teriyaki, Island Teriyaki, Hoisin Garlic Asian Glaze & Marinade and Wasabiyaki — are kosher. All are made with organic soybean oil, contain no MSG and are parve. Small and select is the way Scher likes it. “We’ve only had five products in 25 years because we didn’t want to bastardize the market,” Scher said.
Their newest sauce, Wasabiyaki, has been “the hardest one to educate people about,” Scher said. Made with ginger and wasabi powder, “it tastes just like sushi dip.”
Each marinade comes with recipes developed by Scher “usually around the dinner table with friends and associates,” he said.
Each marinade also comes with a story detailing aspects of the company’s history or Scher family narratives. The Wasabiyaki was dedicated to Scher’s two children, his daughter, 20, a student at USC, and his son, 16, a high school junior. The next one will be offered in memory of Scher’s father, Meyer, who died the day before Thanksgiving this year and was one of the original founding members of Congregation Kol Emeth in Palo Alto.
Largely because of his father’s influence, Eddie Scher is active in Temple Beth El in Aptos, where he gives time to various synagogue activities and functions.
Scher spends free time he has with family, working out, cycling and playing tennis. But meeting with his network of 70 distributors and attending six to seven trade shows each year to greet the people who make Soy Vay successful consumes much of his life.
The next phase of Soy Vay Enterprises will be staying ahead of the growing competition. “We were the first to enter the teriyaki sauce market, but it’s much harder now,” he admits. “Private labels, owned by large supermarket chains of big companies, have become a big issue because they can reduce prices. But who knows where their products are being made?”
Also, it’s expensive to bring out new products. “It costs a lot — production, testing, fees to grocery stores — to get introduced. But we’re still here, and our sales are going very well after all these years — much to the chagrin of the big corporations.”