My late dad, who grew up on a farm, used to lament that foods today aren’t as healthy as they were in his youth.
“There are too many preservatives and chemicals in food nowadays,” he would say. “It’s not healthy.”
I think my daddy would have liked hearing the story of Pamela Jones. The Bridgeview resident and entrepreneur has been focused on hitting the sweet spot with consumers. Her recipe: barbecue, Asian, ketchup and other sauces she developed that are free of preservatives, high fructose corn syrup and gluten.
Her CharBoy’s line of sauces, which are also lower in sodium, sugar, carbohydrates and calories compared to some competing national brands, are sold in more than 450 grocery stores and retail specialty stores including Jewel-Osco, Pete’s Fresh Market, Mariano’s, Roundy’s and Whole Foods.
“These products were started from the beginning with a conscious mind of having healthier, natural ingredients,” Jones said. “They’re all in line with providing consumers with healthier options.”
The sodium content in Jones’ CharBoy’s BBQ sauce is more than three times less than that of some competing brands, and the sugar content is a third of what’s found in some other sauces. Her hot & spicy ketchup has half the sodium and sugar content of competitors.
Too many people in African-American communities suffer from high blood pressure and diabetes, said Jones, whose father is diabetic.
Indeed, diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 29 million Americans are living with diabetes, including more than 13 percent of African-Americans age 20 and older. Diets high in salt are among factors that have contributed to more than 40 percent of African-Americans having high blood pressure, including many of my relatives and friends.
Diet and health experts recommend limiting consumption of sauces due in part to sodium and sugar concerns. Jones says many consumers aren’t going to give them up and contends it’s important to have healthier choices. I agree.
Jones is positioned to benefit from a growing demand for healthier foods. In 2016, sales of natural and organic food and beverages hit an estimated $69 billion, up 32 percent from five years ago, according to Morningstar Inc. analyst Zain Akbari, who cited data from Packaged Facts.
Demand is “being driven by perceived health benefits,” Akbari said. “Scientific benefits are debatable. Consumers are looking to eat healthier, especially among millennials.”
He expects the trend to continue.
Jones, president and CEO of International House of Sauces & Seasonings Inc. and a self-taught cook, said her CharBoy’s sauces originated from a former downtown Chicago restaurant she co-owned, called Chickadilly’s Charhouse. The restaurant specialized in flame-grilled food served with a variety of international sauces, among them her dad’s more than 70-year-old barbecue sauce, which he made for the restaurant. Over the years, she’d begged her dad to give her the secret family recipe for the sauce. She told him she wanted to bottle it and put it on store shelves. He finally agreed to share it.
Once she got that recipe, she proceeded to change it to make it healthier. She cut the salt and sugar content. She spent two years on research and development with focus groups working to get the flavors of her sauces just right before she began pitching them door to door at independent grocers. She does sample tastings in stores to help drive sales.
The sauces are a hit with me. I sampled the BBQ, Bourbon and Hot & Sweet Asian sauces on grilled chicken and am looking forward to trying out the seafood and chicken recipes on charboys.com.
Jones landed her first chain store, Pete’s Fresh Market in 2010. She pitched the healthier benefits of her sauces and showed a track record at the independent stores. That helped earn her space on Pete’s shelves, she said. Jewel and Mariano’s followed, and last year, Whole Foods’ Englewood store began offering her sauces.
Jones has faced her share of struggles. Like other successful small business owners I’ve interviewed over the years, at times she’s had to rely on personal credit cards to finance the business after being turned down for bank loans, she said. But she’s received assistance from the Women’s Business Development Center, which helped her gain a presence in Whole Foods, and Accion Chicago, a nonprofit that provides loans and technical assistance to small businesses.
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Jones contracts out production of the sauces to a Chicago-based company and employs five part-time staff members. Jones projects to reach $250,000 in sales by the end of this year, which would be nearly a 40 percent increase over last year, she said.
Her goal is to one day have her own production plant with full-time employees.
As for her progress so far, she says her dad is extremely proud to know her products are on grocer’s shelves and “he’s like, ‘I can’t believe you did it. You really did it.'”