Do Pina Coladas Relate to Stuttering?

 

Eighty-four years ago, a young Malcolm Fraser thought he had the market cornered — the coconut syrup market, that is! If Malcolm had been a bit more successful in the syrup business, the Stuttering Foundation might have a different look today.

 

In 1930, Malcolm paid John Kelley $200 for half interest in his coconut syrup business in Atlanta, Georgia. They called it Ko-Ko-Nut Syrup. Malcolm set out to market it to all the grocers in Atlanta.

 

“My father certainly learned a lot of important lessons about life and about business,” says daughter Jane Fraser. “He had to go out and sell face-to-face back then. He had a severe stutter, but he saw many different owners every day all over the city. He worked hard on his sales pitch – he was determined to make each and every sale.”

 

Malcolm was successful at signing up many Atlanta grocers as retailers of his syrup. All was going well until the unthinkable happened.

 

“The product spoiled on the shelves! The 1930 patent and recipe had no preservatives back then,” relates Jane.

 

“He then had to collect the spoiled syrup from every shop owner himself, and he refunded all their money. That left him $500 in debt – money he did not have.

 

He had to borrow from his older sister, and it took several years to pay her back” she added.

 

How did this failure help him in the long run?

 

The fact that he had the courage to carry on in the face of this embarrassing and devastating loss surely strengthened him in his lifelong battle to prevail.