Inspired by her mother, driven by her passion

Rich Palzewic

Staff

December 23, 2024

CHETEK – Tammy Schlosser, owner of Moose Lake Mustard, said she is living out the dream her mom originally set out to do.

“My mother had a dream of producing mustard and marketing it after years and years of making it, but unfortunately, she never got to that point – she’s been gone for more than 30 years,” she said. “I never really liked regular mustard, but my mom’s original mustard was extremely hot. I just played around with different things, trying this or that. I kept tweaking things and made it my own recipe.”

Schlosser said she made the mustard for many years but never marketed it.

“Everyone wanted me to market it, so in 2021, I officially launched Moose Lake Mustard,” she said. “Before it became official, it was a staple in our family for decades. When our boys were younger and had friends over, they’d always ask, ‘Is your mom going to make her mustard?’”

The name behind Moose Lake Mustard has an interesting story, Schlosser said.

“Chetek is a tourist area because it sits on six lakes, but there is not a Moose Lake in the chain,” she said. “I love moose and our long-time cabin – which we now live in and have owned since 1997 – sits on a lake. We called it Moose Lake Lodge, so (the company name) makes sense.”

Schlosser said she had to come up with a unique name because her mustard is unique.

“I didn’t want people to get the feeling that it’s just like your regular Heinz Mustard,” she said.

After many months of trial and error, Schlosser said she and her husband, Bob, added a spicy version of the original Moose Lake Mustard.

“Both mustards are a great tribute to my mother’s hard work,” she said. “Moose Lake Mustard is a unique product that is addicting.”

Schlosser said regardless of age – “people love Moose Lake Mustard.”

“I’m not being biased, but my little grandson absolutely loves it,” she said. “I hear from so many people that their little kids even love the spicy one. People love it on so many things. I have people contact me and tell me what they all put it on. I really enjoy hearing about the many unique ways to use my mustard.”

According to the company’s website, mooselakemustard.com, Moose Lake Mustard can be used as a condiment, a dipping sauce, on various meats, vegetables, pretzels, popcorn and much more.

“My son just went to Red Lake fishing way up in northern Minnesota,” she said. “When you catch your fish at this place, they will fry it up for you. He took some Moose Lake Mustard with him for his fish and fries.”

Schlosser said it’s also become a popular staple for charcuterie boards. 

“I’m also part of Something Special from Wisconsin, and that’s a huge plus for me,” she said. “Right now, I’m in this holiday campaign with Alice in Dairyland. A lot of people look for the Something Special from Wisconsin label, so I’m honored to be part of that group.”

Schlosser said another “feather in the cap” for Moose Lake Mustard was being nominated for the 2024 Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin. 

“Though we didn’t win – there was some pretty stiff competition – I was just thrilled we were even nominated,” she said. 

Slow, steady growth

Schlosser said over the years, Moose Lake Mustard has seen slow and steady growth.

She said the mustard is available at dozens of places in West Central Wisconsin, including Hy-Vee.

“Recently, both of our boys went on to college in River Falls, and we delivered mustard to them all the time,” she said. “It started in the dorms and then went to houses and apartments, etc. Just recently, we added a new location in River Falls. It’s humbling that because of those guys, that’s one of the reasons we went on to market there – they begged for it to be available.”

Schlosser said some of the places Moose Lake Mustard is available are That Girl Brie (River Falls), Miller’s Cheese House (Rice Lake), The Grain Bin Market and Butchery (Boyceville), Fire Away Roadhouse (Cameron) and Eau Galle Cheese (Durand).

“It’s also available on the menus (of several restaurants) as well,” she said. “I really enjoy helping out other businesses as well because people will go in there because they want to get the mustard, and then, in turn, they’re hopefully buying something else.”

Though Moose Lake Mustard is in several locations now, Schlosser said “it was hard work getting to this point.”

“At first, it was basically door to door,” she said. “When I was first able to market it, I had made it at a commercial kitchen, and they started selling it there. It grew from that point on.”

Schlosser said she knew if she stayed at the commercial kitchen, the business would only go so far – and “I wanted to branch out.”

“I’d say to people, ‘If I can help out with anything in your business,’ or ‘If you would like to carry it, let’s do this,’” she said. “Now people come to me wanting to carry it, so it’s an ever-growing company. We do a lot of tastings, farmers markets, craft shows – we go to our customers.”

For example, Schlosser said her husband was recently at the Ellsworth Cheese Factory.

“If he makes a delivery on a weekend or whatever, he’ll set up and do a sample for them, and then, in turn, they sell it,” she said. “It draws people to their place as well. We do a lot of tastings because our mustard is still getting more known. We’re not at the Heinz level yet, but we’re taking baby steps and are grateful. Our hearts are big and full that people love our products.”

Schlosser said she never imagined Moose Lake Mustard would take off like it has.

Recently, she said Moose Lake Mustard got trademarked and patented – “so it’s awesome to have that backing.”

“I remember being so excited when I sold my first container,” Schlosser laughed. “We recently built our own (commercial) kitchen – we enclosed our front porch – and made a state-certified kitchen. We’re just a little company, so we don’t have the funding to do a big building. We’ve already outgrown our space, but it’s okay for now.”

Though Schlosser said there are no immediate plans to introduce more flavors, she said “that’s not out of the realm of possibilities.”

“My husband and I both still have full-time jobs,” she said. “We burn a lot of midnight oil, so to speak – working at night. We are just seeing how it goes for now and not sure at this point if we’d ever do it full-time – we are excited for the future, though.”