Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Futrell.
Hi Brittany, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Yes I started my business in 2015.I always had an entrepreneurial spirit.I decided I wanted to build something that could bring generational wealth to myself and my offspring. I had spent time in foster care as a preteen and was robbed financially I never wanted any of my offspring to have to go through that.So I talked to God and God told me to jar my famous hot wing sauce and sell it,so that is what I did.I got my daughter involved when she was really young to instill an entrepreneur mindset in her also.I allowed her to name the sauce and she chose Angel Wing Sauce. We went door to door to peddle the sauce to get the community involved and to beta test my sauce.I wanted the feedback from people and the response was overwhelming! People loved the recipe so I had to look into what I needed to do to become legit.I got in touch with the NC Department of Agriculture and they gave me an outline of what I needed to do to get approved to jar my sauce and sell commercially. They pretty much tried to push me into getting a commercial kitchen or a co packer but I read some more food laws in NC that stated I could make hot sauce in my own kitchen as long as my kitchen was approved by a NC Department of Agriculture inspector so that’s what I did! Today I sell nationwide at Angelwingsauce.com and several retail locations on the east coast.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
If you are the first to do anything most likely the road is never super smooth, but because of my faith in God it carries me through all obstacles. Some of the struggles I faced were getting my kitchen approved with the NC Department of Agriculture and recieving my processing letter.I had to make a batch of my sauce and have the temperature at 180 degrees or over when I filled all the jars then convert all jars for some time.By the time I turn the jars over and open them the temperature still had to be at 180 degrees.All while an inspector is watching me closely,so it was a juggling act.It seemed a little tricky to me at first but I was able to accomplish it with ease after a few tries. Honestly speaking there were several obstacles but I felt as if they were all worth it to have something I own.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
For work I am the Owner and Founder of Angel Wing Sauce a specialty gourmet sauce manufacturer out of Raleigh, NC. I handle all operations from social media,manufacturing our products,bookkeeping,catering,etc.I hire seasonal help when necessary and also bring on my daughter to help at times also.As she has decided to go full time back into her education, I pretty much hold the family business down for now.I specialize in manufacturing acidic foods and thats what I recieved my certification in at NC State University. I am known for my famous Angel Wing Sauce recipe and being the first black woman to own a hot sauce business in North Carolina. I am most proud of building this business from a little and turning it into massive profit.I am also the First black owned hot sauce manufacturer in NC and that brings me great joy!
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Yes I would love to share my view.Ricsk taking is absolutely necessary when you are pursuing your passion and your dreams.Most people who later become successful after starting with very little have to take risk to accomplish goals, fund ideas,build legacies or fulfill their purpose. I took a lot of risk in the beginning of building my business. I didn’t want to get stuck in the cycle of having to work a 9 to 5 job so there were times when I took a risk and used rent money to buy supplies and pay bills for Angel Wing Sauce. I believed in my vision and I knew taking risks were necessary. I could have probably put my livelihood at risk but I had faith in my God and he provided for me.Angel Wing Sauce has been standing a little over 10 years now.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Angelwingsauce.com
- Instagram: @angelwingsauce
