One of the best things about the Farmers Market community is meeting all the great vendors. Sometimes you get to meet inspiring individuals who spark ideas and collaborative efforts. That was the case with Makieda Hart.
Makieda is a motivated entrepreneur with a great product. Every salesperson knows it's easier to sell a product when you can connect with your customers. Not only does it taste great, but Sgt Hart's Barbeque Sauce has a unique origin story which sets it apart from other sauces.
In the late 90's, Sgt. Hart was stationed in Germany. There would often be family BBQ get togethers for everyone to come together as a team and build strong family bonds in a foreign country. On one of those occasions they ran out of BBQ sauce, so Sgt. Hart went to the pantry and started pulling ingredients to make his own. The sauce was well received and everyone asked him to make it for the future gatherings. 14 years later, the sauce was pulled out of retirement when a neighbor invited him to compete in a local amateur BBQ competition. Again it was a hit with everyone who tried it. I guess they finally realized that the sauce they were just making for family and friends could be shared with the world. And they ended up naming their company Strong Family Bonds.
When I first met Makieda, I learned that she was selling Sgt Hart's Barbeque Sauce on Amazon and was getting ready to go on QVC to sell it there. I was impressed. And inspired. I thought it would be nice to sell on Amazon someday, but figured that would be WAY further down the road for me and Lucille's Gourmet Honey. Suddenly it didn't seem that far off.
Over the course of the market season, Makieda and I talked about putting some Lucille's honey into a Limited Edition of her sauce. She told me quite a few of her customers were looking for something a little spicier and thought adding Habanero Infused honey might do the trick. She also wanted to try adding Lucille's Barrel-Aged Honey to a batch as well.
After a couple months of planning and preparation (I told you Makieda was motivated), I'm pleased to announce that Sgt Hart's Limited Edition Intensified Habanero and Bourbon Infused barbeque sauces are now available.
The Bourbon Infused has notes of whiskey, smoke, honey, garlic and black pepper. The Intensified Habanero has notes of fruit, onions, brown sugar and a nice pepper spice that comes on at the end. Both of the sauces are perfect for basting ribs, mixing into pulled pork sandwiches or tossing with some chicken wings. All of their sauces are gluten free, free/low sodium, free/low fat, and contain no high fructose corn syrup.
If you'd like to try either of these sauces, head on over to www.strongfamilybonds.com