Black Owned Brands for Your Barbecue
With Memorial Day right around the corner, it’s time to make sure you are ready for cookout and grilling season. Try a new seasoning blend or find some barbecue sauce that will wow your taste buds. But when it comes to Black owned Businesses, sauces aren’t the end of the road. We will highlight some here in the beverage category and of course, at least one where you can find your hot dog rolls and hamburger buns. So check out our guide of Black owned businesses for your barbecue below. When you’ve done that, give our directory a search and find even more Black owned brands that can make any event a success.
Truemade Foods are the product of Pitmaster Ed Mitchell. His entire line of condiments is made with the grillmaster in mind. For your cookout, you need ketchup for your burgers and hot dogs. These products are also sugar free and feature vegetables to add sweetness, so there are no manufactured sweetners in these condiments.
You know if we are talking about Barbecue, we have to stick in the South for a minute. This North Carolina based brand actually has a story that starts in Florida. The King of Foods line of rubs, seasonings and barbecue sauces got a start when founder Kelly Hunter began barbecuing as a teenager in Miami. In 2008 King of Foods became official and 6 years later, he was packaging and selling his seasonings locally. Now anyone can get these flavors and bring the King home today.
Station 1923 is a Husband and Wife owned brand of spice blends that began in early 2020. This brand offers a wide variety of flavors from those great for breakfast to a multitude of blends that are perfect for the grill. You can get a single flavor or try one of their themed variety packs and have half of the work done for you in advance.
JP's Que
JP’s Que is spice and sauce brand that blends the founder’s Black and Mexican heritages for bold flavors. This rapidly growing brand has developed new ways to combine heat and flavor and recently was admitted into the Target Forward Founder Accelerator Cohort. However, don’t let that stop you from ordering some sauce and seasoning now though so head to their website today.
This BBQ sauce brand from Lathay Pegues is inspired by and named after his grandfather, John Tom Branson. It took 5 years for Lathay to recreate the classic recipe and since then has grown to include three other varieties. While Indiana doesn’t have a regional flavor or style, John Tom’s BBQ hopes to change that and spread BBQ love across the globe.
The Barbecue scene is always a big one for African Americans and Kyvan Foods is a soul food brand with a family of products that start with the taste of apples. From Barbecue sauce, to salsa, you can fill out your summer functions with their great products. Don’t forget the hot sauce and if you need some seasoning, get some barbecue spice rub for your chicken or ribs.
if you’re looking for some unique flavor, Mambo Sauce can be the perfect condiment. Savory, sweet, and a little tangy, this Washington D.C., staple can bring some liveliness to your cookout. Top your basic burgers and hot dogs or use it to baste and flavor your grilled chicken breasts and wings. We already know about Capital City, but Uncle Dell’s is another black owned brand that you can bring to the function. It comes in regular and spicy flavors as well as a cocktail sauce variety for shrimp and other seafood.
If you’re cooking out, pickles are optional. But if you are barebecueing, having pickles is as mandatory as the pork. Spanky’s Pickles is a family owned brand that offers up the traditional farmhouse pickle but that’s not it at all. You can get pickled beets, carrots, okra, and even sliced green tomatoes. There are so many options and if you’re trying to step up your game you can think of some great and creative ways to incorporate these in all kinds of different ways.
There are a lot of toppings, but a big question you might have is, “where are the meats?”. Well here you go. Gold Star Links is one of the oldest companies in Denver, Colorado and this business is making top quality sausages for you. From the standard hotlinks to chicken sausages and brats, your buns well be filled with the help of Gold Star. They aren’t delivering everywhere so check online to see if they will be available for your home.
Another Black Owned Sausage maker is Maroon Sausage. This Brooklyn based company is known for their jerk chicken sausage. That’s right, not only is it free of pork but their flavors are all based in West Indian spices. These are also Halal certified with no GMO’s and minimal processing. They are available in several BK area stores, check the website for availability.
For every cookout you have to have some beverages and the most key beverage of all is water. Black people are some of the highest consumers of bottled water in the country. For your barbecue, you can get a Black Owned Bottled Water Brand like Eleven 86 Artesian Water. If you live in the South, you have more access to a brand like this or LA Great Water. Nationwide, some of these brands that you can find in our directory will ship to you. You can also find Just Water from Jaden Smith around the country as well.
We know that you may be vegan or have vegan friends, there is no reason you can’t enjoy the cookout as well. Betterchew is a Bay Area Vegan company that is providing an assortment of proteins and meat replacements. For the cookout, nothing fits better than their Vegan ribs which heat up in minutes. Enjoy something from their entire lineup and give them a try today.
Another option for those who are meatless or trying to lower their meat consumption is Easy Oat Burgers. This unique option is a plant based “burger” mix that is easy to use and features ingredients that you know. Grab this bag, mix with water, some oil and included sauce and make into patties that will be great for your vegan friends.
Afropop is the black owned soda brand for the culture. Made by an Oklahoma City entrepreneur, the current lineup consists of three flavors that you can get for your gathering. The brand has started shipping but it is a luxury. If you are in OKC you can find these at several retailers around the city.
You may want something that is a little bit harder, but not a complete hard spirit, Hard Seltzers are all the rage. Yes, there is a black owned entrant into the space. Grown Folks is the black owned brand that can be added to your cooler for the cookout. It comes in three refreshing flavors and can be found in over 100 stores in California.
