Playing the spread: Morehouse scores with mustard as Dodgers add local sponsors.

Some Dodgers fans were blue in the face on Opening Day last week, but don't blame that on the team's loss to the Atlanta Braves.

Blame it on the dogs. Actually, make that the mustard.

Debuting at Chavez Ravine was a special blue mustard developed for stadium sales by City of Industry-based Morehouse Foods Inc., which scored a sponsorship home run when it was chosen by the team to be the official Dodger mustard, replacing French's Mustard Co.

With 1.6 million Dodger Dogs sold annually--more hotdogs than in any other ballpark in the country--that's a sponsorship that has Morehouse thinking ... mustard green.

"Getting people to sample our product is near impossible," said Morehouse President Richard Mayne. "This means 1.5 million people will see and taste our product."

Morehouse wasn't the only local sponsor to score big this season at Dodger Stadium. Count among the fortunate City of Industry-based Snak King and Los Angeles-based California Pizza Kitchen Inc.

And of course, there's longtime sponsor Clougherty Packing Co., the Los Angeles-based manufacturer of the Farmer John brand Dodger Dogs (though it was bought last year by industry giant Hormel Foods Corp.)

The sponsorships can go for as little as $25,000 or as much as $1 million--Morehouse and the Dodgers aren't disclosing their deal--but the companies say the association with the beloved team buys publicity and good will that tops traditional advertising opportunities.

For the Dodgers, the deals are part of a strategy to increase the number of local companies that get sponsorships, all part of an effort by owner Frank McCourt to improve the team's community relations in the post-News Corp. era.

"I challenged the sales staff to go after local companies," said Marty Greenspun, Dodgers chief operating officer.

Unique product

When Mayne was hired by Morehouse, a 108-year-old family-owned company, the long-time food industry executive made his first priority a sponsorship and distribution deal with the Dodgers.

Associating with a sports team can be a complicated venture, although Mayne was already familiar with the process. "I set up the original Sparkletts sponsorship with the Dodgers, so I had done this before," he said.

Mayne said he was able to entice the team to drop Heinz by creating a private label product specifically for consumption at the stadium, including the blue mustard version.

The company branded three types of private-label mustard exclusively for the stadium. Dodger Deli Mustard is the traditional yellow mustard and can be found at Condiment stands throughout the stadium. For the suites, it created Dodger Dijon and the special Dodger blue-colored mustard, which looks unnatural but tastes just like mustard.

"We can make the Dodgers unique," Mayne said. "We can create, manufacture and distribute a new product in one week and deliver directly to the stadium."

For Morehouse, one-day taste tests in grocery stores reach approximately 500 people per store at a cost of $150. As the official mustard of the Dodgers, the brand reaches a much larger audience: Dodger fans consume 5,000 gallons of mustard per year, making the stadium Morehouse's largest individual buyer.

Morehouse plans to use the exposure to gain more retail penetration. It will bottle the private label mustards and distribute them in retail stores later this season. It will also conduct promotions in conjunction with Hormel and Coca-Cola in front of retail locations throughout the area.

Sales driver.

With close to four million tickets sold each season, partnering with the Dodgers gives smaller companies regional exposure. And for many local sponsors,Los Angeles is the top market.

"It gives you some visibility where you have none in a marketplace," said Ray Coen, an independent business and marketing consultant in Pacific Palisades.

Consider Snak King, which makes a variety of snack foods that are distributed across the region. The company employs 300 people and manufactures its whole product line at its 180,000-square-foot City of Industry factory.

"Southern California accounts for 25 percent of our sales," said Joseph Papiri, Snak King's vice president of sales and marketing.

And while local companies may use the opportunity to build brand awareness, they provide the Dodgers flexibility in the types of products offered at the stadium. A prime example of that is the pizza offered by California Pizza Kitchen.

"This is our first venture into an outdoor sports stadium," said Larry Flax, co-chief executive of California Pizza Kitchen, which is known for its gourmet pizzas--that are a contrast to the pepperoni-and-cheese slices normally offered at stadiums.

Flax was introduced to McCourt through former Dodger player Steve Garvey and decided during opening week to sign on for this season. "We hope to develop a long-term relationship," Flax said.

California Pizza Kitchen will start selling pizza at the beginning of the next home stand against the San Francisco Giants. Four different pizza types, including its signature barbecue chicken pizza, will be sold. Flax doesn't expect to outsell hot dogs as the top stadium fare. But "children love pizza," he said.

Meanwhile, the idea of blue mustard has inspired McCourt to seek out other blue-colored foods. Snak King is developing blue caramel corn that may be available later this season.

DAVID NUSBAUM

Director of Research