Today we’d like to introduce you to Travis & Audrey Thun.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was a former sous chef in one of America’s top-rated restaurants. I gained a lot knowledge on what flavors pair well together, and the process of making jams. Since I worked late most nights, my favorite snack when I got home was peanut butter and jelly waffles. After seeing how much sugar and unnecessary junk was added to the standard grocery store jam, I decided I could make my own, but healthier. In the fall of 2019 I began experimenting with different flavors – starting with my famous Apple Pie jam, which was inspired by my grandmother’s apple pie recipe I loved as a kid. Then from there it turned into a part-time gig doing house parties in my parent’s neighborhood and small private events. In 2020 I decided to venture out and started applying to be a vendor at local farmer’s markets and festivals. Of course, with Covid this set me back a little in the beginning, but once things died down I was able to start selling my jams at these events.
For the first couple of years I only made a small selection of flavors and only did a few shows throughout the year. Then in the spring of 2022 I met Audrey at a festival in Braselton. We started dating and she showed a strong interest in the products and immediately starting helping me at festivals. She noticed how much people loved the jams and encouraged me to apply to more shows and grow the business. Together we came up with even more flavors and she helped me stay organized through it all. In early 2023 we decided to start blending our own loose-leaf teas since that was one of Audrey’s passions.
Since then the business has grown from a side job to it now being my full-time job. In addition to the jams and teas, we’ve also developed a line of unique and fun caramel sauces that we change throughout the year based on the season. And because of how much the business has grown we were able to move out of our small townhouse into a larger single-family home on a nice piece of property this year. Our goal is to build raised garden beds in our yard so we can start growing some of the ingredients we use in our products. It all goes back to using wholesome, real ingredients – and local as much as possible
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
For the most part, yes. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a circle of family and friends that have helped me along the way.
The biggest hurdle I had to overcome was early on. Because I had worked in a kitchen for 7 years, and only saw the same 3 people every day, my social skills were lacking. Having to talk to strangers about my product and really sell what I had took some time to adapt to, but now it’s like second nature.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We offer a unique selection of handcrafted, small batch jams. Our jams feature bold, innovative flavors made with fresh, high quality ingredients. We also create seasonal caramel sauces and hand-blended premium loose-leaf teas to compliment our jam selection.
I’m most proud of coming up with my own method of making jam that reduces the amount of sugar needed to preserve it.
What sets us apart is flavor selection, and low sugar content (jams). Each flavor of jam, caramel and tea is our own personal recipe
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Good luck has helped us recognize and appreciate the people in our lives who have helped us in our journey.
Bad luck is there to help us learn lessons, even when our intentions are always good
Pricing:
- 8.00
- 9.00
- 12.00
- 14.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thunsbunsandjams.com
- Instagram: @thunsbunsandjams
Image Credits
Elizabeth Brumley
