Conversations with Drew Smith

Today we’d like to introduce you to Drew Smith.

Hi Drew, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I got started a few years ago when my wife and I bought our house in the Historic West End. We moved from Cabbagetown and there’s just not a whole lot of space for a garden, so having a large yard was a priority when we purchased and I made quick work to have some sort of gardening and farming in the heart of the city.

My Dad at one point started a heirloom tomato business and sold at markets and restaurants, so gardening was something I wanted to continue. We would manage the farm, take care of the plants and deliver back door to high-end restaurants. For me, what started as a mix of vegetables, including tomatoes, quickly focused on peppers.

I had way too many peppers than I knew what to do with. Growing them started as a hobby more than anything else, with no real foresight into what to do with them other than to tell folks I grow Carolina Reapers in my backyard. So, I started off making hot sauce and experimenting with a few recipes. I come from a craft beer brewing background, brewing for a couple of different breweries in town so the process of sanitation, recipe design and even fermentation came natural and making sauce aligned with my passion for brewing. I bottled it and passed it along to some friends or I would give away some here and there to neighbors. Eventually, these friends asked to throw me a couple of bucks every once in a while.

After three years of perfecting recipes and learning more about the methods, I saw a social media post about a local hot sauce competition. I signed up just to see how I’d stack against some other locals, out-of-town competitors and even professional hot sauce manufacturers. I ended up winning first place with the first recipe I created years ago, Lament Configuration. It’s just one of those things, you’re not expecting very much from entering the competition. YOU know it’s good yourself and your friends enjoy it, but your friends might be trying to be nice. So hearing that OTHERS confirm what you tasted in your work is a different kind of validation and can be a surreal feeling. So it was a little unexpected.

From there I sold out of everything at the competition and orders continued through my social media after the win, so I put in a little more time into creating more sauce to keep up with demand. If you lived in the metro area, I would drop it off on your porch. I now box and ship, thankfully. From there I’ve set up shop at smaller markets and other places and I’ve seen nothing but positivity and love for what I do.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Starting anything in the realm of the unknown is difficult. Self-doubt is a struggle sometimes. When an obstacle gets thrown my way or if something doesn’t happen as quickly as I hoped, I tend to think of it as a sign to stop. There are so many times where I asked myself or my wife if it’s worth it. I’m stubborn. I complicate the process more than I should. As any small business knows, the city loves to sit on their hands and it’s not particularly helpful.

Luckily my wife owns an Atlanta business and helps keep me more grounded and walks me through the process. None of these hurdles are uncommon in business but she has helped me organize the start of all of this.

Most folk don’t know that there are an absurd amount of checks and balances to make hot sauce. It’s not as easy as baking out of your home. Your product has to be tested for shelf stability and safety to the consumer. There’s specifics to the pH and the acidity that make it safe to eat. All of this is kept in check by lab testing, recipe design, quality checks for every batch and you also have to attend a course at UGA on microbiology and food processing practices. I haven’t taken an exam in 20 years! I thought that right there would keep me from moving forward, but you have to just compartmentalize each day and try not to get in your own head so you keep the ball rolling.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Well, I’d say the theme of my hot sauce is definitely different compared to most, especially in Georgia. I have such a love for horror films and I felt bringing that overall theme into the sauce connected a lot of passions into one. The names of the sauces touch on some familiarity and commonality that I think horror movies bring to people while being a film genre that is wholly unique and creative unlike other genres. I like bringing this to my sauces. I say that while hot sauce might not be your thing, I bet you know someone who’s a fan. Same can be said for the horror genre. The fans are a subgroup of people who know a good time when they see it. They can see the appreciation, passion and care at face value in even the schlockiest of movies.

Unlike a lot of sauces out there, I wanted to make something that wasn’t hot for the sake of being hot. It needed depth and complexity while maintaining flavors you’re familiar with while still retaining some level of heat from the super hot peppers I grow. There was a time where I’d take on spicy food challenges but at almost 40 years old, I don’t have much I need to prove anymore. No extracts, no fake stuff. Just pure flavors from the ground up.

I really pride myself on being a local Atlanta product as well as the ingredients being grown locally as well. I have such a love for Atlanta, living here for about 30 years. The history of the city is built into these neighborhoods over time, each being so drastically different and unique. I’m thankful to have the ability to put something in the ground, watch it grow and be a taste of the city. I find that fascinating and exciting.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
This might be the easiest part for me. It may be hard to think of a few, but you likely have contacts or relationships you’ve built that you didn’t know you can lean on. You just have to reach out and be proactive. I’m lucky, first of all, that my wife has the knowledge from starting her own successful business and can help me navigate the next steps. THAT has been an immense help and I’d be lying if I said I don’t lean on her immensely.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. You’d be surprised how many people are willing to help. If your family and friends believe in you and what you do, they will come to you.

Like I mentioned, I come from a background of brewing. A lot of my relationships stem there. Bars you frequent, stores that have carried the beer you make, attending beer festivals. These places are prime for getting my sauce’s name out there. I now have a group of folks out there I can stay in touch with and get my sauce into the hands of the people who are my target demographic.

I also want to give credit to those that have supported me in the beer industry. I brewed at Monday Night Brewing for years, and if I didn’t have that job, I don’t think a lot of inspiration and encouragement would have happened. Everyone there is so dear to my heart. The owners, Joel, Jonathan and Jeff and Brewmaster Peter have been a source of knowledge in starting a business, especially the food business and I’m fortunate to have them as mentors for advice.

Peter has this way with words that can only be described as electric. Probably the greatest public speaker I know. Those times where he’s pumping me up can be a rally call. It was his idea to take a chance on my product and how we can work together to bring something truly delicious. We did that with our collaboration beer “Wicked Game”. We used honey from Monday Night Brewing’s apiary in the West End and peppers from my garden to create a really amazing beer. If I’d not been a part of that family and having their support, I’d likely be heading this up in a different direction at this time.

On a smaller scale, social media is HUGE. It’s likely your first step at networking your smaller business. Even I’m still learning how to use it effectively. I got some serious traction selling through Instagram and that got me here. I’m now learning about ads and timed posts. Learning about reels and their effectiveness. I think diving into those types of things will likely be beneficial when you’re just starting out.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/horrorstruckhotsauce?igshid=mtizzwqxmdu=
• Other: bbffae-2.myshopify.com

Image Credits
Monday Night Brewing