Meet Nick Reische of Brunswick

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Reische.

Nick, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I spent much of my childhood with my grandmother and grandfather, who ran a restaurant and food truck for many years. My Nana passed down a family recipe that, with the help of my wife and kids, was perfected during the Covid shutdown. You can say it was our Covid sanity project! Once that recipe was perfected, we decided that a spicy sauce would be an awesome addition. After many taste testing sessions with friends and family, the spicy sauce came to life! I used these sauces at barbecue competitions, and word spread quickly about how tasty they were! Before I knew it, they became a hit. Several people started asking for it, so it became a small batch operation in our home. When it finally became too much to handle, we contracted with a manufacturing and bottling company in St. Louis to begin production. Because we didn’t think this was crazy enough, we decided that while we were at it, we would throw in the golden sauce we had talked about. Dena and I perfected that, again with the help of our taste-tester friends and family. Before we knew it, we were launching all three sauces in new packaging!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was pretty easy to put the sauce together, but bulk production was a little challenging. Between taste-testing and choosing cost-effective branding such as bottles and labeling, the timeline was a little longer than we expected. The process was a bit overwhelming, and the waiting was a bit challenging, but we are so glad we decided to take that leap. In addition, the marketing and sales is another story! With both of us having full-time careers, finding the time for sales and marketing can be a struggle!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My full-time career focuses on quality management. This background has helped me be sure that we have a quality product, are efficient in our sauce business, and are cognizant to customer satisfaction. We are extremely proud of our products and we are so grateful that our small community has supported us along the way. We have always had a strong local following, expanding slowly but surely. We are currently on shelves in over twenty retail locations, and in 2024, we were excited to have the opportunity to be included on the menu of a local barbecue restaurant, Wellseasoned BBQ. We believe in giving back as much as possible. Without the support of our customers, we wouldn’t be here. We are so pleased to give back, including to school programs, fairs and festivals, and many fundraisers.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
We believe that while risk taking can be scary and difficult, it is necessary if you want to reach your goals.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: Nick’s Barbecue Company
• Twitter: Nick’s Barbecue Company