Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Finch. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Chris, the creator of Finch BBQ products, is an all-in kind of guy. He purchased his first smoker in 2017 and once he got start decided if people were going to eat his food. He wanted to create his own sauce to go with it. He created the original sweet & Tangy sauce in 2018 and started taking it to work with him, traveling with a local part band. People in the band started telling him he needed to bottle and sell it. We used the sauce at home, and he took it with him anywhere he went until November of 2019 when we did a fundraiser for single parents at our church. His mom asked if we wanted to bottle our sauce and make it. By this time, he had created the Sweet Habanero sauce as well. We ended up learning how to can our sauce and sold 76 bottles for the fundraiser. About a month after the fundraiser, we started having people ask us if we had more. So, we started out making like 12 bottles a month and selling them to friends and family who were asking for more. In June of 2020, we decided to set up at our first Farmer’s Market in downtown Garland. We ended up selling 97 bottles of sauce and really have been going ever since. We have been working local farmer’s markets ever since and have since started working a vendor booth at the State Fair of Texas and launched our products at over 60 stores, including Central Market Grocery Stores all over Texas. Creating Finch BBQ, LLC, and selling sauce and rubs was definitely not something we ever saw for our future, but now that it is here, it is pretty amazing, and we can’t wait to see the continued growth of living a dream we didn’t know we had!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Since 2020 at our first farmers market to now, we have seen a lot of growth, more than we thought we would… but it has not been an easy road. We have worked countless hours and events to push our products and get to where we are today. Just the learning curve alone of having a sauce and rub business and figuring out all the rules and regulations is one thing. Starting a business from nothing and having no background in running a business is hard in itself, but having a BBQ sauce and rub business against so many others, especially in Texas is even harder. It is financially draining as well…we started with $500 of our money just to open the business bank account, and although our company is growing it is a constant flow of making money and needing it because of growth. We have been going a little over 3 yrs. And people always say the first 5 are the hardest. Then you start seeing a change in what you are actually able to profit! Until then, we just keep on pushing on!!!
We’ve been impressed with Finch BBQ, LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a family-owned and operated business! Not only do my wife, Wendy and I work to make our business successful, but our two teenage daughters, our parents, and close family help us to make everything possible! The people in our lives believe in us and our products! It truly has only been possible because of family, friends, and customers who believe in us and our products. We are a Texas-made brand, part of Go Texan, and we take pride in the look of our products, the presentation of our products, and the taste of our products. Even moving from making it our kitchen to having to grow to a co-packer we took our time in making sure that what we were producing was the best that it could be! Our branding honestly is one of our favorite and most important things to us. We wanted a look that stood out from others, and our branding has always been something that people talk about. It draws people in, and then they try it and love it!!! We offer retail online and many markets and events throughout the year; we offer wholesale to stores and even have a few local restaurants/food trucks that use our sauce! We also offer catering and food at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we sometimes do drive-by dinners!
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
BBQ is not something I grew up doing; I only started in 2017, and running a business was never ever something I saw myself doing. For me and my wife both, the most rewarding thing is seeing the reactions of people who try our stuff and serving and helping people where we can.
Pricing:
- $12 retail for all items
Contact Info:
- Website: www.finchbbq.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/finchbbq/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/finchbbqllc
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@finchbbq.com
