Our Story

 

Who is Sweet Baby Ray? 
It all began back in 1985 when a local Chicago boy named Chef Larry perfected his family’s recipe for a sweet and tangy BBQ sauce and entered it into the country’s largest rib cook-off, the Mike Royko Rib-off. Chef Larry called his sauce Sweet Baby Ray’s after his little brother David, who got the nickname shootin’ hoops on the west side of Chicago. On the day of the rib-off, Sweet Baby Ray’s® beat nearly 700 entrants to come in second - an amazing feat for an unknown. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Sauce is the Boss

 

When brother David and friend Mike caught wind of Sweet Baby Ray’s® success, they, along with Chef Larry, decided to take the sauce on the road. What would the rest of America think? Knocking on doors, selling to small mom-and pops, even grilling right on the sidewalk, word of Sweet Baby Ray’s savory taste spread like wildfire. By 1994, Sweet Baby Ray’s® distinctive bottle could be found on grill pits and dinner tables across the Midwest. With their sights now set on the rest of the US, Larry, David and Mike took to the streets again. From 1996 through 1999 sales soared. Sweet Baby Ray’s also became the BBQ Guru to the taste of Chicago (that’s 4 million visitors and a ton of napkins). By the end of the century Sweet Baby Ray’s US sales had topped 500,000 cases annually.

 

 

Sweet Baby Ray’s® has become the fastest growing BBQ sauce in America and the #1 premium BBQ sauce in grocery. Tomorrow, maybe the universe. We’ve watched you make Sweet Baby Ray’s® sauce fly off the grocery store shelves for some time now. We know you’re fanatics about this sauce, and everyone’s discovering “The Sauce is the Boss!®”

Shredded Pork with Sweet Baby Ray's Original Sauce

 

 

Meat of the Story
But what can you do when you don’t have time or the weather won’t cooperate to grill? That got us thinking, “Why not give you more options featuring the sauce you crave? Items you can enjoy when you can’t grill outside or when you’re short on time or when you just need your Sweet Baby Ray’s® RIGHT NOW!”

 

The result? Our new line of heat-and-serve barbecue pork covered in that distinctive, sweet and tangy sauce you adore that brings out the best in any cut of meat. It’s the easy way for you to get “The Thrill Withou the Grill™” – 365 days a year.

 

We know it’s the sauce that will get you to try these delicious pork products, but it’s gonna be the meat that will make you want more. So naturally we’ve been very selective about choosing a partner. We’ve put them through the rigors the only way you can …by eating lots and lots of pork ribs, tenderloins and shredded pork all with your favorite Sweet Baby Ray’s® Original Barbecue Sauce.

 

After this extensive testing, we selected PrairieFresh®Premium Pork -- an industry leader and a premier supplier of fresh pork. They control every step of pork production and produce the finest pork we’ve tasted. Right now our fully cooked barbecued meats feature favorite cuts like pork loin backribs, tenderloins, St. Louis style spareribs and even shredded pork –- all grilled to perfection and all of the highest quality. So, when you don’t have time to create your own masterpiece on the grill with Sweet Baby Ray’s, go for “The Thrill Without the Grill” by devouring Fully Cooked Barbecued Meats with Sweet Baby Ray’s Original Barbecue Sauce.

 

 


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