Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Honeycutt. Them and their team share their story with us below:
It all started about 12 years ago when Patrick was living in small-town Alaska and his friend tagged a moose. There was one grocery store and he wasn’t about to put sweet baby rays on moose ribs! He came up with the recipe on his own from scratch and has been improving it and making it better for the last decade!
We moved here about two years ago and made the barbecue sauce for some friends who LOVED it. One of our friends said we should sell it and that was the lightbulb moment. We decided to pull the trigger and try to do it for ourselves! A couple of days later, we saw advertisements for the Southern Roots BBQ Festival and took that as our sign to jump in; and jump we did.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Our biggest challenge has been time management; we both work full time during the week and do barbecue sauce on the weekends as well as some evenings after work so we truly do work 7 days a week. So far, it has definitely been organized chaos but we are hoping to eventually be able to shift and focus more on the barbecue sauce! In addition to working full time, we recently got engaged and are actively planning a wedding (which is almost another part-time job!) and have a one-year-old puppy. We still make time to maintain a social life as well as personal hobbies and attend markets. With that being said, time management and organization is a lessons we both learn and improve upon every day as we try to make this business and dream into a sustainable reality!
Truthfully, while there have been challenges, up to this point it has all gone relatively smoothly! We are so lucky to have the support of friends and family, both locally and on the other side of the country, which has greatly helped us get to the point we’re at. At the end of the day, the drive to have our own business and do our own thing by ourselves and for ourselves makes the long days truly worth it and keeps us looking forward to the next market or event.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Not only are we the sole entities running all aspects of this business; but Patrick came up with the recipe all on his own from scratch! We love that we were able to start this and truly could not have done it without family, friends, and the local community we’ve met during our markets. The initial outpouring of support is what led to us being where we are now.
We are still small and will always be committed to producing quality, flavorful sauce. Our potential is unlimited and we will build on what we’ve started as time continues. The business is just us; Patrick and Mandy, and we hope your interactions and conversations with us reflect our passion, drive, and unique personalities.
And rumor has it, we’re coming up with a third barbecue sauce flavor! Stay tuned and follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more!
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The next year will be imperative to us continuing to increase our reach and participating in as many markets as possible. We don’t know exactly where the next 5-10 years will take us; we have very high hopes of how far we can get! By next March (which will be Smoked Sauces’ 1 year anniversary) we have our sights set on being in some local stores that highlight local products. In order to reach that goal, we’re actively working with DHEC and Clemson’s food testing laboratory to be approved for wholesaling. After that, we will need to ramp up our production and distribution. Our eventual goal is to truly create a family owned and operated business which, in turn, can possibly provide for that family. None of that is possible without the continued support from the community!
The other week we were at a market and had someone enter the market area, locate our tent, and walk straight to us and say they came to this market just to get more sauce. That was such a cool moment! We’re working on our license to be able to sell wholesale (to stores) and are hoping to increase our local following!
Pricing:
- $10/ 16 oz jar
Contact Info:
- Website: https://smokedsauceco.square.site/
- Instagram: @smokedsauceco
- Facebook: smokedsauceco
Image Credits
Zack Bradley Photography and Prodoehl Photography
