A message from Wally Cekala
Welcome to the first issue of Chicken Wire!, Willow Tree’s monthly newsletter dedicated to the world’s most loyal customers. This month, we’ll be telling you a little bit about our Facebook page, “revealing” the secret ingredient in our award-winning chicken salad and – ahem – introducing you to the president of Willow Tree. (Oh wait, that’s me.) If you like our newsletter, please tell your friends. If you have any suggestions for story ideas – like, say, how you first discovered Willow Tree – please feel free to contact me. In the meantime, happy reading – and see you next month.
Wally Cekala
Follow Us!
Willow Tree’s on Facebook! 
Willow Tree has always enjoyed an extremely close, loyal and vocal following, something we’re really proud of and thankful for. In fact, if we’ve had any reservations at all, it’s that we haven’t been able to hear from our faithful customers more often.
Until now, that is.
On Labor Day, Willow Tree officially opened up shop on Facebook, the incredibly popular social-media website. Finally there’s an online destination that brings together all of Willow Tree Nation and gives you a direct line to Willow Tree food, fun, contests and more.
Here’s where you’ll find handy information and helpful tips (like the NFL schedule, good to know when prepping for a Willow Tree Chicken Salad “indoor tailgating” event). If you’ve recently moved out of the area, you’ll definitely want a rapid response about getting our products shipped to you. You can even weigh in on your favorite ways to eat Willow Tree Chicken Salad. (Here’s a shocker: One of our new fans said “Right out of the container.”)
Says Debbie Pulsone, one of the Willow-Tree-ers in charge of responding to fans, “We’re so excited to be able to connect with our customers directly, on a daily basis. Even better, they are excited about it, too!”
Willow Tree’s Facebook page is also the best place to look for the events we’ll be attending. And speaking of events, be on the lookout for our “Tag! You win!” Contest – which we launched this month at the Tufts 10K Road Race in Boston. When Willow Tree fans attend a WT event and tag photos of their friends on our Facebook page, they’re eligible to win great prizes. Tag someone who becomes a fan of our page and you win a prize. Whoever tags the most friends wins the biggest prize of all, a Willow Tree Tailgating Package that includes a Willow Tree branded cooler, chair, blanket, hat and thermos, a $159 value.
It’s safe to say that the Willow Tree Facebook page is a hit. In less than three weeks after it officially launched, Willow Tree fans have told their friends about it, increasing our community from 300 to 525 fans, a 57% increase.
Willow Tree may have published the Facebook page, but in reality, it’s all yours. Click here to join the fun.
Revealed! The “secret ingredient” in Willow Tree Chicken Salad!
“Freshly squeezed white grape juice.”
Practically since it was created in 1965, inquiring minds have wanted to know – precisely – what it is that makes Willow Tree Chicken Salad taste so good.
“Brown sugar?”
Willow Tree Chicken Salad, like everything else at Willow Tree, was born to satisfy our customers. Working out of a very small store – the site of the larger retail store today – company founder Chet Cekala hit upon the recipe as a way to offer something new to customers, in addition to fresh chicken, eggs, chicken pie and a very good egg salad.
“Honey?”
Then, as now, quality was first priority. The only mayonnaise that Chet would consider was mayo from Worcester, so a store employee had to drive up and get it.
“Molasses?”
Yet it wasn’t until the mid 1980s when Willow Tree Chicken Salad really began to take off. Literally. Nestled in a cooler plugged into the lighter of an AMC Gremlin, orders were delivered to three local supermarkets. The year after that, it was six. And today, Willow Tree Chicken Salad is available in thousands of locations all over the place.
“Secret sauce?”
Willow Tree customers aren’t the only ones guessing. In fact, larger supermarkets have tried to reverse-engineer our chicken salad, to “re-create” Willow Tree to learn the secret of its success.
In the interest of full disclosure, we may as well set things straight. (Fair warning, however: The answer will not shock you.) The secret ingredient in Willow Tree Chicken Salad is…. (drumstick roll please!) …chicken. More specifically, fresh chicken. Willow Tree cooks and produces its chicken salad from start to finish and buys chicken only from smaller quality-minded farms. The fact is, we’re required to list all ingredients on our pre-pack chicken salad. And yes, brown sugar is one of them.
“I knew it!”
Nine Questions for… Wally Cekala.
Q. How did you get your job at Willow Tree? Was it all about “who you know?”
A. Oh yes, it was absolutely nepotism. My dad started the business in ’54 and I worked in the business washing trays while standing on a milk crate to reach the sink. I thought I was really cool working for my dad and later I found out that he was just trying to get me out of my mother’s hair because I was driving her crazy. But it was a lot of fun.
Q. How did you spend your first day as a Willow Tree employee?
A. I washed potatoes and trays. Not at the same time, but that was my initial job.
Q. Do you remember the day you first tasted Willow Tree Chicken Salad?
A. Yup. To me, that was chicken salad. I never knew anything different. I also remember the first time I didn’t taste Willow Tree Chicken Salad, in my teens, at a friend’s house. I ate it and I thought it had spoiled. Politely, I finished it…
Q. How do you account for the loyalty of Willow Tree customers? After all, there are alternatives out there.
A. We’re very blessed that we produce a product that our customers enjoy. If they all of a sudden decided they didn’t want to eat chicken salad anymore, I’d have to go back to selling newspapers or something.
Q. Have you ever had a job other than the ones at Willow Tree?
A. No, I never even sold newspapers. That’s a total lie. I’ve only worked here…I’ve got the shortest resume in history.
Q. What’s the farthest you’ve ever had to ship chicken pie? Chicken salad?
A. With chicken pies, we go as far south as Pennsylvania and as far west as Buffalo. But our customers request our products from everywhere. We’ve shipped salad as far as Hawaii and a Thanksgiving turkey to Alaska.
Q. Wally, if you weren’t the president of Willow Tree, what would you be doing?
A. I don’t know. I really don’t know what it would be, and I hope I never have to find out. Maybe doing something else in the food industry. That’s my passion.
Q. What do you do for fun?
A. I spend a lot of time with my wife and family. Not a lot of traveling. We go to New Hampshire and the Cape a lot.
Q. Last question. Are you a chicken salad or a chicken pie guy?
A. I’m both. I started off my morning by sampling the first run of gravy and then a quarter-ounce sample of chicken salad. I do enjoy it every day. I’m probably the first and longest-standing Willow Tree Chicken Salad addict, I think.
Thank you, Wally.
You’re welcome.
