ESTABLISHED VENDOR – Ole Ray’s Sauces

How long have you been in business? 12 years

How has your business/clientele changed since you started? When Ole Ray first started, it

was with a handful of BBQ sauces and making only $11K per year on sales. With persistence and a constantly growing line of BBQ sauces, Ole Ray’s business does well into six figures worth of yearly business, much of it to restaurants and retail outlets. While the clientele at shows like the Weekend of Fire want the spicier stuff, Ray sticks to what works. “I usually make what I like.”

What is new, if any, for this weekend’s show? Nothing new from this year’s show, but other sauces are on the drawing board. Ray hints that he is toying with the idea of creating a cherry bourbon BBQ sauce, and maybe even a spicier version of that same product that chileheads would like.

If you would recommend one product of yours to try, which would it be? Tough call between a personal fave, the Kentucky Red Bourbon BBQ sauce, or the best-seller, the Apple/Cinnamon BBQ sauce.