Sweet Baby Ray's
Sweet Baby Ray's is a brand of barbecue sauce based in Chicago, Illinois.
Product type | Barbecue sauce |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Introduced | 1986 |
Previous owners | Dave and Larry Raymond |
Tagline | The Sauce is the Boss! |
Website | www |
History
Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce was developed in the early 1980s by Chicago brothers Dave and Larry Raymond. They named the sauce after a nickname Dave had earned as a basketball player.[1] In 1982, the brothers entered their sauce in a Chicago barbecue competition for the first time. In 1985, their fourth year of competition, Sweet Baby Ray's won second place out of a field of 700 competitors. The following year, the brothers incorporated as a business and began selling the sauce to consumers.[2]
The Raymonds sold the business in 2005. At the time, the brand was earning $30 million in revenue and had 21% total market share.[3] By 2008, the sauce had become the second best-selling barbecue sauce in the United States.[4]
Despite selling the sauce business, Dave Raymond retained the rights to the name "Sweet Baby Ray's",[5] and currently operates two restaurants under the name located in Chicago.[4]
References
- "'Sweet Baby' Raymond would rather help inner city kids". Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, Illinois. October 16, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- Kornecki, Lynne (September 2, 1990). "Sauced to Sell". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- Chamberlain, Chris (April 9, 2012). "Introducing America's Sauce Bosses". Food Republic. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- Pizek, Jeff (June 27, 2008). "Sweet Baby Ray's". Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, Illinois. p. 38. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- Corso, Rochelle (October 19, 2005). "Creator of famous barbecue sauce opens restaurant". Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, Illinois. p. 5–2. Retrieved January 6, 2020.