Summer is on full steam ahead as we close out June and head into July. That means in almost every neighborhood, the weekend air is filled with the smells from someone grilling dinner or having a cookout with friends. One home based business is looking to add a personal touch of flavor to the smells of summer with a line of seasoning mixes (dry rubs) and BBQ sauces!
Based in Durham, NC Mike D’s BBQ is an up and coming BBQ business looking to infiltrate backyards across America. Started in December 2013, by Michael De Los Santos after years of working to perfect his own product after not finding what he was looking for on the market. He had been making sauces and trying them out on friends and family at his annual memorial smoke fest where he was always encouraged to start a business and get his creations out to the masses.
After working through a difficult time in his life in 2012 after the death of his son, Michael spent 2013 looking to turn his dream into a reality. Michael said, “My son fought so hard to live, there is no excuse for me to not fight just as hard to make my dream a reality in honor of my son.” Three years later, and Michael and Mike D’s BBQ are pushing full steam ahead. There has been a lot of growth in the first three years. Despite not selling being able to get their all-purpose rub to market until March of 2014 and their first sauce (BIG Sauce) until July of that year, they were still able to meet their sales goal for their first year in business. Year two saw more growth; they launched their second dry rub (Sweet & Spicy) and picked up their first retail markets with one in Raleigh and one in Durham. While they did not meet their ambitious sales goal that year they still experienced a 23% growth in sales.
Now in their third year of business, Mike D’s BBQ is starting to hit their stride. They are on pace to double their sales from year two. They have added additional sizes to their dry rubs and are working to launch two more sauces (Spicy BBQ and Fire Sauce). In addition to online sales they have ramped up efforts at weekend market and festivals as well as added competitions to their calendars. In the competitive smoking, they recently had their highest finish with a top 10 finish for pork at the Bull City BBQ Classic in Durham. In May, they had their highest finish for their BIG Sauce which finished 20th at the BBQ Jamboree in Fredericksburg, VA, but their proudest achievement came in April 2016. It was then at the World Hot Sauce and Extreme Food award in Lafayette, LA with 14 countries represented that their Sweet & Spicy Rub finished 2nd in the world in the Dry Rub – Fowl Category. “Having such a high finish at a world competition in just our 3rd year in business, shows we are on the right track with our flavor profile,” says Michael.
Mike D’s BBQ has added another retailer in Durham and is now also available on Amazon. They are in talks with some larger stores in hopes to get onto more shelves this year. Products are also available on their own website (www.mikedsbbq.com) where they offer $5 flat rate shipping to anywhere in the US no matter how large the order. They have shipped products t 28 states and hope to reach all 50 states in the next 6 months! Both dry rubs have cracked the top 400 for gourmet rubs on Amazon with the Sweet & Spicy rub peaking at 306 and the all-purpose rub at 391.
What sets this sauce a part from others is that it is a hybrid between vinegar and tomato based sauce. If you have ventured into North Carolina then you know there is a state divide with the eastern part of the state being vinegar based while the western uses a thicker tomato based sauce. Michael’s sauce has the color and flavor of a tomato based sauce but the thickness and consistency is closer to a vinegar based sauce. “I tried to pull in the best of both worlds to make the perfect sauce,” said Michael “this sauce a mild sweet sauce with a hint of heat on the back end, with our spicier sauces coming out later.”
Michael has turned his home office into his product warehouse. His sauce is produced in 150 gallon batches for him by Bobbees Bottling in Louisburg, NC while he produces the rubs himself after passing the NC Department of Agriculture inspections to allow him to be a home producer. His office is full of cases of BBQ Sauce and he tried to keep the dry rub inventory low so fresh batches are constantly being produced to ship out the freshest product.
Michael also uses the business to raise money for Action NC a nonprofit whose mission is to confront and reduce the root causes of poverty, underdevelopment, and social and economic inequality through grassroots education, training, organization and mobilization. Michael believes that part of running a small home based business is to also support the community you live in where possible.
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About Mike D’s BBQ, LLC
Mike D’s BBQ has been in business since December 2013 selling a signature line of BBQ Sauces and Dry Rubs. They have shipped to 28 states so far, and have products available on Amazon and at local retailers like Big Al’s BBQ in Raleigh and King’s Red and White Market and the Bulldega Urban Market in Durham. They also have a presence at local markets around the Triangle like The Saturday Market at Rebus Works and the Downtown Cary Food and Flea. They currently offer one BBQ Sauce (BIG Sauce) and two rubs (All-Purpose and the Sweet & Spicy). They are working to launch two additional sauces this year (Spicy BBQ and Fire Sauce). More information about the firm, its products and how to buy can be found on their site at www.mikedsbbq.com. Retailers interested in carrying products can reach out to Michael at www.mikedsbbq.com for wholesale pricing.
