There wasn’t a lot of forethought before Chris and Mary Ginder decided to start a hot sauce company. Chris had the idea one day and suddenly became obsessed with making and selling their own fresh pepper hot sauce.

It wasn’t simple. Because of their commitment to quality and compliance, it took three years to actually launch the business and sell the first case of Gindo’s Spice of Life in 2011. 

And it hasn’t always been easy since, like when the couple moved from Los Angeles to Illinois to take control of the manufacturing and work with local farmers. Just when things were looking up, the COVID-19 pandemic brought a host of other challenges.

But the Ginders adapted by making a plan and staying connected with their community.

Listen in to the latest episode of the Be a Marketer podcast to hear Mary and Chris discuss the ups and downs of their business with host Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact. 

Find out how the Ginders try to bring the engagement of their in-person events online, keep sales consistent throughout the year, and maximize results from their bi-monthly newsletter.

💵 What they do: Chris and Mary are hot sauce makers and owners of Gindo’s Spice of Life, a line of handcrafted, award-winning hot sauces with ingredients from local farmers. They had the idea in 2008, launched the business in April 2011, and then moved it to Illinois in 2015.

💡 Key quote: “[Community] is a huge part of our business. Our mission statement is we make fresh pepper hot sauces designed to inspire creativity in the kitchen and support local farms and businesses. It’s everything for us.” –Mary

💡 Key quote: “We took it as an opportunity. How can this business survive a move at this stage in the game from Los Angeles to the Midwest? What are the things that were working? What are the things we want to change? How are we going to approach our business? It was almost like we got to start over. And diving into the community and becoming immersed in that was a big part of it, for sure.” –Chris

👋 Where to find them: Website | Twitter | Chris' LinkedIn | Mary’s LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

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