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Elizabeth Esser interviews Mike Otis, the president of Battle Tested Craft Barbecue Sauce. Five percent of the company's profits go to the veterans non-profit Stop Soldier Suicide.
Eye on the Triangle is WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2’s weekly public affairs programming with news, interviews, opinion, weather, sports, arts, music, events and issues that matter to NC State, Raleigh and the Triangle.
00:00
Eoin Trainor
The views and opinions expressed in Eye on the Triangle do not represent WKNC or the student media. Good evening Raleigh and welcome to this week's Eye on The Triangle, an NC State student produced news show on WKNC 88.1 FM HD1, Raleigh. I'm Owen Trainor. On tonight's episode, Elizabeth Esther interviews Mike Otis, the founder of Battle Tested Craft Barbecue Sauce. But first, we have stories from the North Carolina News Service. Stay tuned.
01:07
Nadia Ramlagan
Parents should catch their kids up on missed doctor visits and in some cases, vaccinations to protect themselves and their communities before they return to school. That's the message in a new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute. Earlier this year, the CDC reported that orders for all non influenza childhood vaccines had decreased by around 11 million doses, a direct result of fewer pediatric visits. Elizabeth Hudgens with the North Carolina Pediatric Society says that could put more kids at risk for becoming ill from communicable diseases such as measles.
01:41
Elizabeth Hudgens
Vaccines are absolutely important for kids at all ages and they are a great way to keep kids safe in school.
01:48
Nadia Ramlagan
And out of school, the report says. Visits to providers offices fell by 58% for all age groups in March of last year, and visits for toddlers dropped since 75%, the largest decline by any age group. Some parents don't immunize children for religious reasons, while others worry about potential health risks of some vaccines, although those are reported to be extremely rare. President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Lee Beers explains well, visits can set a child on track to stay healthy and safe.
02:19
Dr. Lee Beers
Your pediatrician will make sure that you're up to date on your vaccines, but will also check in on growth and development and your child's mental health and make sure that chronic diseases are taken care of. So there's lots and lots of reasons to get back to your pediatrician now.
02:33
Nadia Ramlagan
According to the North Carolina Health Area Education Centers, some pediatricians have allowed sibling, well, child visits, so parents only have to come into the office once instead of twice or more, and have implemented more consistent schedules for telehealth visits and in person follow up. This is Nadia Ramlagon for North Carolina News Service. Find our eight trust indicators to support transparency and accuracy at PublicNewsService.org. Massive wildfires in the western US And Canada have triggered poor air quality in North Carolina over the past few weeks, and health experts say it's important for residents to know traveling smoke can cause more than hazy skies. Pediatrician and health programs manager at Clean Air NC Dr. Stephanie Johannes says research shows tiny particles can penetrate the lungs and cause a range of health problems.
03:24
Dr. Stephanie Johannes
Problems we know that when that air from the west coast shows up here in North Carolina, it's affecting our air quality here and it's really putting people, everybody at risk for health problems, but especially those people that already have some heart or lung conditions, especially people with asthma.
03:40
Nadia Ramlagan
The CDC says Wildfire smoke can make people prone to lung infections, including the coronavirus. According to noaa, a warmer and drier climate is expected to lead to more frequent and intense fires and smoke plumes, which in turn are expected to affect more people. Johannes points to research published earlier this year by scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, which found that the fine particles in wildfire smoke can cause more harm to human lungs than particulate matter from other sources, such as car exhaust.
04:12
Dr. Stephanie Johannes
There is a lot of data that shows that this particular kind of pollution contribute to mild symptoms like eye or respiratory tract irritation, but also to really severe things, worsening heart and lung conditions that people have and even causing premature death.
04:27
Nadia Ramlagan
She encourages families with young children, the elderly and those with a chronic disease to regularly check their local air quality index@airnow.gov Air quality indexes use ozone and particle pollution measurements from 0 to 300.
04:41
Dr. Stephanie Johannes
Anything over 100 is unhealthy for people in those sensitive groups, and anything over 150 is something that's risky really, for everybody.
04:49
Nadia Ramlagan
Johannes recommends planning outdoor activities or exercising on lower air pollution days and says it's important to talk to your doctor or child's pediatrician about air quality concerns. This is Nadia Ramlagon for North Carolina News Service. Find our eight trust indicators to support transparency and accuracy at publicnewservice.org. Local health departments that rely heavily on advanced practice registered nurses say the costly contract requirement that they be supervised by a physician are draining already scarce resources and affecting North Carolina's most vulnerable populations. By law, APRNs must work under doctor supervision, have a collaborative practice agreement and meet once every six months with their supervising physician. Health director at Guilford County Public Health Department Dr. Ulia Vaughn says her large APRN staff spans the fields of maternal health, primary care, family planning and HIV and STD prevention and care.
05:50
Dr. Ulia Vaughn
And all of these team members, they have to have a supervising physician who, based on the requirements from the Board of Nursing in order for them to stay licensed and certified.
06:02
Nadia Ramlagan
The SAVE act, introduced in North Carolina this year, would remove supervision requirements statewide, but physician groups like the American Medical association maintain patients are better served by an integrated care team led by a physician. Vaughn notes her department shells out tens of thousands of dollars for supervision contracts.
06:22
Dr. Ulia Vaughn
Our role in the community and our services to our community are really nurse driven and we do not have the resources to include some of these collaborations all the time.
06:35
Nadia Ramlagan
At the Craven County Public Health Department, Health Director Scott Harrelson says physician oversight costs his department around $91,000 a year. He explains they rely mostly on primary care physicians to help keep contract costs low.
06:50
Scott Harrelson
They can go from pediatrics and adult primary care. So you could see some, maybe a potential savings of just doing one contract for the whole shebang, especially if you're a smaller health department that doesn't have. A whole lot of volume coming through. On your primary care.
07:04
Nadia Ramlagan
One 2018 study of rural health clinics in the Southeast found loosening supervision requirements for nurse practitioners improves the numbers of providers, healthcare access and quality of care in rural regions. This is Nadia Ramlagon for North Carolina News Service. Find our eight trust indicators to support transparency and accuracy at PublicNewsService.org. As activists mark more than 100 days of protests since the April 21 death of Andrew Brown Jr. Killed outside his Elizabeth City home as police officers served a warrant on drug charges, faith leaders are now voicing support for drug law reform. Brown, who was unarmed, was shot as he attempted to drive away after officers surrounded his vehicle. The Reverend Dr. Jennifer Copeland says harsh drug laws disproportionately affect the state's black and brown communities.
07:58
Dr. Jennifer Copeland
What we're trying to do at the council is help make the connection between the fact that the war on drugs is a failed policy that fundamentally misunderstands what substance use is all about and how it should be handled.
08:14
Nadia Ramlagan
According to the Drug Policy alliance, nearly 80% of people in federal prison and 60% of people in State prisons for drug offenses are black or Latino. The group Human Rights watch says every 25 seconds in the US someone is arrested for possessing drugs. Protesters in Brown's family continue to demand the release of body camera and dash cam footage from the shooting. North Carolina NAACP President Reverend Dr. T. Anthony Spearman says he hopes the State can reform its criminal justice system. To hold law enforcement accountable is to.
08:46
Dr. T. Anthony Spearman
Find a better system, a more just system as it relates to especially these prosecutors, these district attorneys who are making these unilateral decisions to more or less justify those who are killing African Americans.
09:00
Nadia Ramlagan
Spearman also believes it's up to church congregations to help individuals like Andrew Brown Jr.
09:06
Dr. T. Anthony Spearman
The faith community could have risen up to assist him. And I think that's the role that needs to be filled by many in the faith community.
09:14
Nadia Ramlagan
A review of federal and State incarceration data by the Associated press reveals between 1975 and 2019, the nation's prison population jumped from around 240,000 to more than 1.3 million, largely as a result of drug offenses. This year marks the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon's declaration of the War on drugs. This is Nadia Ramlagon for North Carolina News Service. Find our eight trust indicators to support transparency and accuracy at PublicNewsService.org.
09:51
Elizabeth Esser
I'm Elizabeth esser with WKNC 88.1. Eye on the triangle. Joining us today is Mike Otis, local veteran and founder of Battle Tested Craft Barbecue Sauce. Mike, thank you so much for joining us today on Eye on the Triangle.
10:06
Mike Otis
My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
10:08
Elizabeth Esser
So I'm from North Carolina, so I have to ask, is it vinegar based or tomato based?
10:14
Mike Otis
It is not vinegar based, although there's a little bit of vinegar in it. It's more of a tomato based sauce, probably more of a cross between Memphis style and a Kansas City style.
10:25
Elizabeth Esser
My dad has recently been making Lexington style barbecue sauce, which I guess is somewhere in between.
10:32
Mike Otis
But I've learned a lot since I've come to North Carolina about barbecue sauce. And there seems to be an invisible dividing line down the middle of the State where if you go to the east, it's real vinegar and if you go to the west, they get more tomato base. So I think it's all good.
10:47
Elizabeth Esser
Yes, I agree. I agree. So the battle tested recipe dates back generations in your family. Could you tell our listeners a bit about the history of the sauce?
10:56
Mike Otis
Well, it's interesting. My dad, I grew up, my dad used to make barbecue sauce. It was pretty much a Sunday afternoon during the summer when he was grilling chicken. And everybody loved the sauce. I loved it growing up. And as a teenager, I'd go on camping trips or I'd go out with Boy Scouts to go camping. And I'd always say to my dad, give me the recipe. I want to make some sauce to take with me. And my dad was a World War II vet. He was part of that greatest generation. And he'd look at me with a stern voice and say, you're not old enough to handle the recipe. I make the sauce so when you're 21, you can have it. And he'd go on to make the sauce for me, but he would never give me the recipe.
11:35
Mike Otis
He just never would Give it to me. And it became this running joke between us. And When I turned 21, I joined the Air Force at 18. And so when I turned 21, in my birthday card, on a three by five card was the base recipe of what now is battle tested craft barbecue sauce. And I still have that card to this day. It's all stained up, but I have it in a frame sitting on my desk. Yeah. And he got the original recipe from my grandmother, I want to say early 1930s. So it's been around a long time and I've made some changes to it, but the original base recipe goes back that far.
12:13
Elizabeth Esser
And can you remember that first time that you had the sauce?
12:18
Mike Otis
I know I was probably. That I can remember. I know you've been making a long time, but probably 12, 13 years old.
12:27
Elizabeth Esser
Yeah.
12:28
Mike Otis
One of those family things that. That's been there.
12:31
Elizabeth Esser
Yeah, definitely.
12:32
Mike Otis
Yeah.
12:33
Elizabeth Esser
I've been on a family trip with my family who's. They're all foodies. And so there's always talk of sauces and comparing recipes. So it's neat to have that connection with family. For sure.
12:45
Mike Otis
Yeah. I've made it for almost 30 years before I decided to bring it to market. So it's like I make it, put it in a mason jar and give it to friends as gifts.
12:54
Elizabeth Esser
Yeah. Well, going off of that, you know, your brand has been extremely successful. Can you talk a little bit more about how you got battle tested off the ground and transitioned from being a family recipe to being on the shelves of over 800 grocery stores?
13:10
Mike Otis
Well, I wouldn't say we're overly successful yet. We've only been at it two and a half years. A friend of mine who actually was on Shark Tank this past May, he made it on the show with his product. It's called Super Potty Trainer. And it's a device that goes under the toilet seat for little kids so they don't feel like they're going to fall in. Right. So anyways, that was his product. He's a manufacturer, but I'd sent him some and he shared it with a guy from who writes forbes magazine, who had put seven inventions through Shark Tank. And the guy just happened to taste it and he's like, what is this? And he said, a friend of mine makes it. He goes, well, you better tell him to bring it to market.
13:49
Mike Otis
And I've heard this for so many years from friends and I don't really, I don't know anything about the food business, you know, so not my background or my industry, but I Just decided that I'm going to bring it to market. So I came home and said to my wife, we're going to bring the sauce to market. And she said, great, how? And I said, I have no idea. I know nothing about it, but we're probably going to empty bank accounts and run up credit cards. And she just said, do you believe in it? And I said, I do. I've heard it for so long, really believe that we can do something with it. So I started doing research. There's a lot of organizations that are available to veterans, entrepreneurs to start businesses.
14:27
Mike Otis
And I spoke with many of them and they're like, what do you want to do? And I said, I want to start a barbecue sauce business. And they're like, what's your goal? And I said, I want to be a national brand in five years. And everybody said to me, save your money, you'll never do it. And it's a highly competitive industry. It's $2 billion a year in the United States. And I mean, if you go to the store, just look, I mean there's local, I mean, there's so many different brands out there. But something in my gut tell me told me to do it. So I did it.
14:58
Mike Otis
And I found a manufacturer here just north of Raleigh, so we could figure out how to scale from a single batch on the stove and move it up into 150 gallon batches because we want to keep it small batch, craft made. I had to figure out how to design labels, do nutrition panels, barcodes label design, I mean the whole thing. And then I had to figure out, can I sell it? And we ended up setting a due date of getting into the flavors of Carolina. Show up near Charlotte and set up a booth there. Drove up with three days to spare. We rolled it off the line. I hadn't even tasted it yet. And we just rolled up and we set up and we put samples out and Showmar's restaurant up in Charlotte picked us up.
15:45
Mike Otis
We beat out 15 other sauce companies and were off to the races. Then started doing festivals and shows. And then I kept talking to grocery store buyers and food Lion Harris, Teeter, Lowe's Foods, Wegmans, they all picked us up. And it's been about two and a half years now and we're still going and we keep expanding. We just picked up a 30 store chain in upstate New York, so we're pushing down into Atlanta and Food Lions now pushing us down into northern Florida. So it's expanding and it's getting bigger and it's Been an interesting ride, for sure.
16:20
Elizabeth Esser
Yeah, absolutely. And a big part of your mission is bringing awareness and donating to organizations fighting PTSD and veteran suicide. Could you tell us a little bit more about that?
16:32
Mike Otis
Yeah. You know, as a veteran, I was a Desert Storm veteran in the first Gulf War, and I did 22 years, and I've always believed, my wife does, too, that you have to give back. You can't just be a taker through life. There's always got to be a give back there. Not that you give back to gain more, but it's just the right thing to do. And so there's a lot of veteran missions out. I mean, from dogs to. I mean, there's a lot of fun veteran missions. Veteran suicide is really not a fun topic and it's not one that a lot of people talk about. But, you know, 22 veterans a day kill themselves and that's one every 72 minutes.
17:14
Mike Otis
So when you look at that and you look at those numbers, to me it seemed like if we could get an organization organizations involved with us as we go State to State that work with PTSD veterans to help prevent veteran suicide, that was a mission that we wanted to be a part of. We give 5% of every bottle that we sell to here in North Carolina to Stop Soldier Suicide in Durham. It's a great organization and they do a lot of great work with veterans in helping to prevent veteran suicide.
17:46
Elizabeth Esser
Have you seen some direct benefits from your work with Stop Soldier Suicide?
17:51
Mike Otis
Not so much directly. I mean, we're a very small company and 5%, it's not a big number, but I mean, in two years we've been able to donate a couple of thousand dollars. And I think every dollar helps an organization like that. I've seen some of the work that they do. I wouldn't necessarily attribute it to us, but I think it's a great place to donate to. And they're a solid organization run by veterans and that was real important to us. So they just. They just do some really up there, right?
18:22
Elizabeth Esser
Absolutely. And finally, you mentioned it a little bit earlier, but where can our listeners find battle tested barbecue sauce?
18:30
Mike Otis
Well, you can find it. We've got it on our website. You can order right off the website, which is battletestedbbq.com there's more information on us. We've got a couple videos on there on the story of how we got started and our veteran charity work. But you can go to Wegmans. Any Wegmans here in the Triangle carries it. There's most of the stores have a display called Local Carolina. So it's Carolina specific products. That's where we live right now or in an area where it's seasonal. So, like all the barbecue seasonal stuff, we're not exactly in the barbecue sauce aisle yet. So, like we're on the local shelf. I call that the kiddie table. I want to get to the big boy table, which is the barbecue sauce shelf. But in Wegmans you can find us on a seasonal shelf. Food Lion Local goodness.
19:18
Mike Otis
Harris Teeter has us right next to the barbecue sauce in most of the stores and Lowe's foods as well. And then in the western part of the State, Ingalls carries us. And then there's some smaller stores as you get down towards the coast too, that some mom-and-pop stores that carry us. I know Wake Forest has a general store up in Wake Forest and they carry it there too. So you can find it in different locations. But if they go to the website, type in their zip code, we've got a search engine on there and they can show them where the stores are with the address if they want to go pick it up.
19:52
Elizabeth Esser
Mike, thank you so much for joining us on Eye on the Triangle.
19:55
Mike Otis
I appreciate the time and thank you.
20:01
Eoin Trainor
And that is it for this episode of Eye on the Triangle. Thanks for tuning in. If you have any questions, comments, ideas, or would like to get involved, shoot us an email at wknc-publicaffairs@ncsu.edu we'd love to hear from you. Stay tuned for your regular programming. We'll see you next time.