It’s Your Life : CYBERJAM : Restaurateur Planning to Hawk Homemade Foods on Internet

As any serious computer user knows, it’s no fun getting jammed up on the Internet.

But getting jam on the Internet?

Now that’s another story, one in which Ventura restaurateur Pete Ransom wants to be a leading character.

The owner of Cucina d’Italia and co-owner of Pete’s Breakfast House, Ransom is preparing to sell a line of homemade specialty foods--jams, jellies, hot chili pepper sauce, barbecue sauce and maybe even teriyaki marinade--over the Internet.

Ransom originally was going to market the products in mail-order catalogues. That was until one of his customers suggested using the information superhighway for cheaper, more widespread exposure.

“There’s a lot of impulse buyers on the Internet,” Ransom said. “You can test-market your product for a while. I’d say in two to three months, you’d know if anybody is interested in it. If just 1% of the Internet users became buyers, I think you’d do better than through a catalogue.”

Ransom figures that more than selling his product, he’ll be selling the allure of old-fashioned hard work and dedication.

“Customers will be buying the story of a little coffee shop in a small town, making everything homemade,” he said. “We’ll also be marketing ourselves as a tourist destination point. People can go to this small town and touch the people who make the products.”

Ransom said he has spent a lot of time working out the packaging of the products and is now concentrating on distribution. He expects the entire line to be available by late August at Repete’s, his retail store adjacent to the Breakfast House, and by Thanksgiving on the Internet.