College Friends Turn Personal Project Into Booming Business Down The Shore And Beyond
By Kristina Dougherty
SEA ISLE CITY (CBS) – It's a classic case of "I wish I thought of that." A few college friends turned an idea into a successful business.
Brian (aka Hank,) Matt and Josh were college roommates at Flagler College in Florida. That's where Hank used to make a sauce customized to his own taste.
Matt says, "Hank had been making the sauce for years before we started to actually bottle it. He would make it for personal use because he didn't like the flavor of the big industry sauces."
They never thought it would turn into an actual business opportunity until Matt needed to create an advertisement for a college class.
"I asked Hank if we could make a few bottles for the class and the early stages were born. This was in October of 2010. The next semester I used it for my portfolio, and that's when it got a little more serious. We were noticing our good buddies absolutely crush the stuff whether it was 2 p.m. or 2 a.m. I mean like really using a ton of it. It made me think if it's so popular in this small group, why not on a larger scale?"
Low and behold, Hank Sauce was born.
Matt says, "Our first store was at Mojo's Tacos in St Augustine, Florida. This was around February or March of 2011. We sold small bottles and also filled up their "house bottles," the 32 oz jugs for people to use on their food. It was a pretty big hit right off the bat and a few bottles were being sold every week. We knew we had something when the store owners kept complaining about the 32 oz bottles being stolen off the counter."
Now, he says the sauce is sold in stores from Florida to Chicago and Michigan, up to Rhode Island and Boston.
Right now there are four main flavors of the sauce, but Matt says, "Hank has so many others up his sleeve. We do some seasonal ones like the Honey Habanero in the fall, and we'll do quite a few other micro batches when we have time. In the future, the core four will be just the tip of the iceberg...salad dressings, dry rubs, marinades, etc. We'll be getting into all of that once we are established with our own facility, automated machines, etc."
"The first step is to establish our "Hankquarters" so we can show people what we're really made of. We still have a ton of work to do to get there, but we understand what it takes to create something great." He says, "We really want this to become a national brand, and we know we have the capabilities to do so."
He offers this bit of advice for college kids who are hoping to launch their own successful business: The first and most important step is having the confidence to step off that secure curb. You will never know "what could have been" if you never take the first step and try. Too many people are afraid to work for themselves because there really is no security or guarantees, and it takes a long time to create that. Heck, we still have a while to go, but we know we're on the right path. Hard work is the second most important in my opinion. A great idea is still just an idea if you never work towards it. I truly urge anyone with any idea to get crackin.' We're not even close to where we want to be, but its miles from where we started."
For more information on Hank Sauce, visit: hanksauce.com
