Papa Jakes spices and more

Recently i had the priveledge to interview someone super close to our family. He goes by Papa Jake. Papa Jake grew up on farms and became a butcher, however during his time packaging and selling meat he found a new love of cooking it. through this, he found the best spice combination for steaks burgers and more. he decided to start his own spice brand and give the world what he created too.

Q/A With Papa Jake:

What made you want to share your secret spice recipe?

“I would always get compliments on my BBQ and wanted people to feel more successful when making meat. I love making people happy and when you eat good steak you are happy.”

How did you get your customers?

“I would advertise my spice while selling meats at the shop and giving people discounts if they threw it in and soon enough i had a chunk of people who were coming to buy my spices.”

How did your brand get bigger?

“It was before we had social media and internet to promote products so the spice spoke for itself. I believe word of mouth worked in my favor and I lived in a smaller part of town where people would know who I am. having an establish meat production working for me before I started also worked in my favor.”

How has your business changed since you started?

“My business has evolved into something completely different than when i began. i started in a small meat production unit and now Papa Jakes is sold through other sellers. I used to package and make all of the seasonings but now it has its own production and distribution.”

Has your business changed at all because of Covid?

“My business hasnt changed too much I am older now so im not as involved. Papa Jakes is sold in grocery stores and can even be ordered online now so numbers have been around the same even with the pandemic.”

What is your biggest challenge in your business?

“My biggest challenge was the transition when it started getting bigger and i had to figure out how it was going to be produced and distributed on a bigger scale and not just stay in McMinnville Oregon. learning and finding where and how I could evolve my business forward was hard especially when I didn't know exactly the best way to go about it.”

Conclusion

This interview overall was fun i got to chat with someone close to our family and see how his passion shaped something so out of the blue. you can make anything happen if you put in the work and love it and thats what I learned from Papa Jake.