OUR STORY

Two Rules about Food
1. Eatin food should not hurt
2. Life is too short to eat bad food... so please pay close attention.

The two great American past times, eatin' good food and cookin' on the grill. Close your eyes and think back to those early childhood days, most likely some of the happiest times of your life. It's the weekend, all the family has come together, there is a smoky haze coming out of the backyard because the chief cook has fired up the grill. The tantalizing smell, the sounds of family, well it just about brings a tear to my eyes just thinkin'
about this. That smell, which has your taste buds dancing around, just takes
you back to the good ol' days.

Anyway, I guess in the last few months I've had several hundred backyard experts ask me that golden question, "Where did it all begin?"

The Soakin' Sauce Boss has been makin' (for friends and family) what is now called Original Soakin' Sauce™ Marinade for about seven years. In April of 1999, my wife and I, after many months of prayer, decided that we would market this sauce. We decided to offer part of this opportunity to two close friends and associates (Joe Smith and Arrice Faught) that over the last seven years have been right in there up to their elbows helping the Soakin' Sauce Boss make sauce and have Cookin's for different friends and family groups.

So, we first contacted Sharon Standifer, the owner of Superior Office Solutions (SOS). Warning -- Shameless Plug Follows: For all those of you who have an entrepreneurial spirit and have an idea but don't know where to go with it -- you need to call this girl. Sharon has more than 20 years experience with two of the best restaurants we have ever had in Tuscaloosa (The Landing & Cypress Inn). Sharon helped us lay out and implement our
business plan. I highly recommend that anyone who is starting a business send out an SOS and call Sharon for help at 205-462-1767.

For the next three months, we worked day and night puttin' together ideas and workin' on our plans. We found a bottle that we thought fit our product and then we hired a graphic design artist to design the labels. Warning -- Another Shameless Plug Follows -- Tim Hankins, of Hankins Designs (205) 339-4839 is one of the most talented individuals we have ever had the privilege to work with. Tim has a great story about the first time he tried
Original Soakin' Sauce™ Marinade . Tim, who loves all types of meat with the exception of pot roast, drove into his driveway the next night after he first brought home our sauce . As he stepped out of the car, he quickly noticed this enchanting smell coming from his house. He runs into the kitchen and asks his wife about the wonderful smell coming from the kitchen. When she said it was pot roast, he admitted he was a little disappointed
(since he has never gotten excited over pot roast). Well his wife told him it was going to be a few more minutes before supper was ready. He went into the den and tried to wait patiently, but the smell was driving him crazy. By now you have surely figured out that his wife had used Original Soakin' SauceTM Marinade to cook the pot roast. Tim came to my office a few days later with the first rough draft sketches of our labels we have on our
bottle. The smile on his face said it all. He was hooked on our Original Soakin' Sauce™ Marinade , and I knew for sure he was the person for the job to design our labels.

Next, in order to establish just where this learning curve started, we registered to go to the Atlanta Gourmet Food Show in September, 1999 where 10,000 buyers from all over the country attend. We were humbled by the tremendous response. We won an award in two Mayor Categories: BEST SAUCE, and BEST NEW LOW FAT HEALTHY PRODUCT. As of January 2001, we have 200 + dealers selling Original Soakin' Sauce™ Marinade in more than 20 states, and we are now in the marinade business.