Bitcoin’s price is fluctuating below the $90,000 mark as volatility increases across the entire cryptocurrency market. During the bearish price action, attention is now being shifted to the cautious signal from the Bitcoin Open Interest in BTC terms, which has remained below past all-time high in years.

Open Interest Tells A Different Story When Measured In BTC

Amid the ongoing volatile action of the crypto market, the derivatives market for Bitcoin is providing a more subdued message. This message is unfolding on the Bitcoin Open Interest (OI) in BTC terms as outlined in a recent research by Joao Wedson, a market expert and founder of the Alphractal analytics platform.

In the report shared on the X platform, the market expert highlighted that the open interest measured in BTC terms has failed to reach new all-time highs since 2022. The BTC-based perspective shows a more restricted usage of leverage over cycles, whereas dollar-denominated measures frequently climb in tandem with price.

On Thursday, the metric experienced a bounce, but Wedson stated that the upward move was mainly in USD-dominated open interest. This pattern suggests that traders are becoming more cautious in the market by allocating capital more carefully as opposed to putting it all into risky positions.

According to the expert, the trend simply suggests that speculation is present in the market and it’s currently expanding. However, the chart shows that the broader market is still far from any form of extreme or irrational euphoria. 

Not Enough Profit To Trigger A Bullish Recovery

BTC’s inability to produce another major rally is linked to the level of investors in profit. Darkfost stated that there are still not enough investors in profit to hope for a sustainable bullish recovery. Thus, it is crucial to understand that latent profits are not harmful to a market; it is quite the opposite.

When investors are most in profit, the situation is much more comfortable, which motivates them to hold. However, this only holds up to a certain point. Also, when the supply in profit surpasses 95% or even 100%, latest profits begin to impact the market and may trigger essential corrective phases.

The ongoing correction remained moderate with a drawdown to around 31%, but it was able to sharply reduce the percentage of supply in profit, suggesting very late entry by many investors. Currently, over 71% of BTC is in profit after dropping as low as 64%, a very concerning level that has typically been observed only when Bitcoin was entering a bear market. 

However, in Darkfost’s view, the market must reclaim above 75% supply in profit to regain a more stable structure. As long as it stays above this level, the supply in profit has historically been associated with positive periods, as shown in the chart. 

With the recent price rebound, the supply in profit saw a brief climb back to 75% before getting rejected. Meanwhile, many BTC investors possibly used this opportunity to exit at break-even or to cut their losses.

Bitcoin is facing a critical test as volatility returns and price action remains unstable around the $90,000 level. Bulls are attempting to defend this psychological zone after recent turbulence, but confidence across the market is still fragile. With uncertainty dominating short-term sentiment, many traders are treating every bounce as a potential trap rather than the start of a confirmed recovery.

According to top analyst Darkfost, the market is still missing a key ingredient for a sustainable bullish continuation: a broad base of investors sitting in profit. He argues that despite Bitcoin’s resilience, there are not yet enough participants in positive territory to build the kind of structural comfort that fuels long-lasting uptrends.

This matters because latent profits are not inherently bearish. In healthy conditions, when most holders are in profit, the market tends to stabilize. Investors feel less pressure to sell, panic fades, and holding becomes easier. That environment often supports stronger trend development and reduces the risk of sharp downside reactions.

Still, Darkfost warns that profit dynamics only help up to a point. When unrealized gains become extreme across the entire market, they can eventually turn into overhead supply, triggering corrective phases.

Bitcoin’s Profit Structure Still Isn’t Bullish Enough

Profit distribution across holders can become a double-edged sword for Bitcoin. When the supply in profit climbs above 95% and approaches 100%, unrealized gains stop being supportive and begin turning into overhead pressure. At those extremes, investors have little incentive to hold through volatility, and even small shocks can trigger profit-taking that fuels corrective phases.

From a structural perspective, Darkfost argues the market needs to reclaim the 75% supply-in-profit threshold to rebuild a healthier foundation. Historically, Bitcoin has tended to sustain bullish conditions when this metric holds above that level, as most participants remain comfortable and less reactive to downside volatility.

Right now, however, the market sits near 71%, after dropping as low as 64%. Darkfost notes that readings this low have often appeared near the early stages of bear markets, even when the headline drawdown looks relatively contained. In this case, the decline of roughly 31% was enough to push a large portion of recent buyers underwater, suggesting many entered late in the move.

The recent rebound briefly lifted supply in profit back to 75%, but it failed to hold. That rejection likely reflects investors using the bounce to exit at breakeven or reduce losses. Going forward, reclaiming 75%–80% would signal stabilization, while further weakness could amplify panic-driven selling.

Volatility Keeps Bulls on the Defensive

Bitcoin is attempting to stabilize near the $90,000 mark after a volatile correction that reshaped the market structure over the past few months. The chart shows BTC printing a major peak around $125,000 before rolling over into a sharp selloff. Accelerating into November and eventually finding a local floor near the mid-$80,000s. That drop marked a decisive break in momentum and triggered a shift toward a lower range, where price has struggled to regain prior support levels.

Since the rebound off the lows, Bitcoin has moved into a consolidation phase, repeatedly testing resistance around $92,000–$95,000 but failing to generate sustained continuation. Each recovery attempt has been met with selling pressure, suggesting that short-term supply is still active near former breakdown zones. The latest bounce back toward $90,000 signals buyers are defending the level. But the structure still looks fragile without a clean breakout.

Volume also reflects uncertainty, with higher activity during selloffs and more muted participation during rebounds. Bulls likely need to hold $88,000–$90,000 and reclaim the $92,000 region with conviction.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

On Thursday, the Wikimedia Foundation announced API access deals with Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Perplexity, and Mistral AI, expanding its effort to get major tech companies to pay for high-volume API access to Wikipedia content, which these companies use to train AI models like Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT.

The deals mean that most major AI developers have now signed on to the foundation's Wikimedia Enterprise program, a commercial subsidiary that sells high-speed API access to Wikipedia's 65 million articles at higher speeds and volumes than the free public APIs provide. Wikipedia's content remains freely available under a Creative Commons license, but the Enterprise program charges for faster, higher-volume access to the data. The foundation did not disclose the financial terms of the deals.

The new partners join Google, which signed a deal with Wikimedia Enterprise in 2022, as well as smaller companies like Ecosia, Nomic, Pleias, ProRata, and Reef Media. The revenue helps offset infrastructure costs for the nonprofit, which otherwise relies on small public donations while watching its content become a staple of training data for AI models.

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Bitcoin (BTC) and the stock market have experienced sharp price swings and declines since 2025. Because of this volatility, a crypto analyst has warned that the market correction could intensify further in 2026. In a detailed analysis, he outlines a bearish scenario for Bitcoin, suggesting the flagship cryptocurrency could soon face another price crash amid persistent downward pressure in the broader stock market. 

Analyst Warns Of Major Bitcoin And Stock Market Plunge

Market analyst Doctor Profit has raised concerns about the direction of the crypto and traditional markets, warning that both Bitcoin and stocks are currently in a severe bear market. In a technical breakdown on X this Monday, the expert highlighted three major bearish setups forming simultaneously in Bitcoin. 

He highlighted a massive Bearish Divergence on the weekly and monthly charts, a clear bearish flag signaling a potential drop toward $70,000, and a possible Head and Shoulder pattern that could still play out. While he acknowledged that Bitcoin could still experience short-term price increases and briefly rise toward the $97,000-$107,000 range due to strong liquidity, he said that the ultimate target remains $70,000. 

Doctor Profit emphasized that Bitcoin’s potential decline to $70,000 could go two ways. It could either break out of the bearish flag to that downside target or complete the Head and Shoulders pattern before reaching $70,000. He stated that he will not add new short positions at current prices but plans to increase them aggressively from $115,000 to $125,000 if Bitcoin moves into the $97,000 to $107,000 range. 

The analyst painted a similarly grim picture for the stock market. He said he was “ultra-bearish” on both Bitcoin and the financial system. He also noted that the banks are stressed and that forced liquidations in precious metals like Silver are creating ripples across the broader market. 

Additionally, Doctor Profit noted that insider activity shows clear signs of panic among investors, with record levels of selling since August 2025. Because of this, the analyst believes that the market is heading for a 2008-style crash. Consequently, he has concluded that the current market conditions are too extreme.  

On the bright side, Doctor Profit said that although he maintains short positions on stocks and Bitcoin, he remains bullish on Gold and Silver. He explained that any upside to the $97,000-$107,000 range will prompt him to increase his short exposure and roll spot profits for BTC from $85,000 into these positions. 

Crypto Markets Brace For Key US Decisions

Toward the end of his analysis, Doctor Profit discussed upcoming events that could influence Bitcoin and the broader financial markets this week. He stated that the US CPI inflation forecast of 2.7% will be released this Tuesday. Other than this, the rest of the week is expected to have few market-moving events. 

Doctor Profit has also highlighted January 15 as an important date because US lawmakers will vote on the CLARITY Act. He explained that if the bill passes, it will move closer to becoming law, setting clear rules and oversight for the crypto market.

Cannabis operators are staring down a confusing policy landscape. To find profit, they'll need to navigate it until it changes.

How much should marijuana operators risk? is a post from: MJBizDaily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Passions-to-Profit: Celebrating the Barbecuing Entrepreneur

As the traditional end of summer, Labor Day also serves to celebrate the American work force and their commitment to productive, inventive and important contributions to our society. In this spirit of honoring America’s hard-working heroes, we’d like to dedicate the entire month of September to applaud the entrepreneurs who’ve applied their talents to making your barbecuing adventures more engaging…and tasty!

Fifth-in-a-Series: Portland Salt; Products Propelled by Thoughtfulness and Joy

Rebecca and Justin Christiansen, the husband-and-wife team behind Portland Salt Co, developed what began as a thoughtful homemade gift into a full-blown flavor movement during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Their mission, beginning with Justin’s legendary Steak Salt, is to help home cooks create bold, restaurant-quality meals with zero stress and all the joy.

Born from a shared love of cooking, travel, and gathering around the table, Portland Salt Co. was a natural extension of the duo’s lifestyle. Rebecca and Justin found joy in crafting seasoning blends that elevated everyday meals and wowed their dinner guests. When lockdowns hit and friends started requesting refills of their signature Steak Salt, Rebecca and Justin realized they were onto something special. Soon, they were shipping jars across the West Coast and Portland Salt Co. officially came to life.

Focusing on Simplicity and Flavor

Rebecca and Justin saw a common challenge: home cooks wanted great flavor without stress. Portland Salt Co. blends were created to deliver just that; precise, balanced seasoning that transforms meats, seafood, and veggies with minimal effort. With just a pinch, these salt and seasoning blends turn everyday meals into something extraordinary, making cooking feel more like an adventure.

A Business Built on Acts of Kindness – Not Profits

The first batch of Portland Steak Salt wasn’t made for profit, it was a holiday gift for friends and family. But when lockdowns hit and people started cooking more at home, the requests started pouring in. What began as a small act of kindness turned into a grassroots movement, with jars being mailed out across the region. That organic demand gave Rebecca and Justin the confidence to turn their passion into a business. Their community’s support didn’t just validate the product, it helped shape the brand’s identity: small batch, globally inspired, and rooted in real culinary experiences.

When the duo launched the company, they did not know how to build a website, how to commercially manufacture food products, anything about affiliate marketing… you get the idea. Despite these challenges, Rebecca and Justin had bet big, producing multiple pallets of each product line without knowing if they would be able to sell a single unit. On day one of launch, they were overwhelmed with thousands of dollars in orders and the mood was quite celebratory! The next day however, the inventory went missing. This was during the height of COVID-related logistic challenges and it turns out that a whole truck trailer was “lost” in the parking lot of a Portland facility.

On day two of business, the couple found themselves in their first crisis; they spent the entire weekend communicating with customers, halting new sales while they tried to locate the inventory and, eventually, missing the entire holiday season which just happens to be the most important for companies like Portland Salt Co. Despite the setbacks, not even a single customer cancelled their order.

Natural Ingredients, Sourced Worldwide

Portland Salt Co. stands out with globally inspired, all-natural blends that bring depth and complexity to the home kitchen and backyard grill. Unlike mass-market seasonings, these blends combine premium Pacific Ocean sea salt with carefully sourced spices from around the world. For home barbecuers, that means consistently delicious results whether you’re grilling steak, smoking pork, or whipping up a quick weeknight dinner.

The Grill Set 3-Pack was crafted with backyard chefs in mind. It includes:

• Steak Salt – the signature steak blend, yet perfectly versatile for all proteins and vegetables.
• Pork Rub – a Kansas City-style dry rub that brings sweet heat to smoked meats.
• Greek Blend – a bright, herbaceous blend ideal for lamb, fish, and summer salads.

Distinct and Unique Features and Benefits

• All-natural ingredients, no additives → Pure flavor, no shortcuts. Vegan and Gluten free.
• Globally sourced spices → Authentic taste that transports your kitchen around the world.
• Versatile blends → Each seasoning works across multiple dishes, encouraging creativity.
• Small-batch quality → Every jar is crafted with care for consistent, bold flavor.
• Easy-to-use format → Big flavor, minimal prep. Perfect for impressing guests or elevating weeknight meals.

With Portland Salt Co., cooking becomes more than just making food, it’s about creating moments, exploring new flavors, and sharing joy around the table. From sprinkling Za’atar on hummus to dusting Toast Sugar on brioche French toast, home cooks are discovering how just a pinch can turn any dish into an experience.

Our Favorite Recipe

Passions-to-Profit Series

• True Made Foods
• Hitchfire
• Sauce Goddess
• Oscarware

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Passions-to-Profit: Celebrating the Barbecuing Entrepreneur

As the traditional end of summer, Labor Day also serves to celebrate the American work force and their commitment to productive, inventive and important contributions to our society. In this spirit of honoring America’s hard-working heroes, we’d like to dedicate the entire month of September to applaud the entrepreneurs who’ve applied their talents to making your barbecuing adventures more engaging…and tasty!

Fourth-in-a-Series: Oscarware; Necessity Breeds Innovation & Success

Confronting a Cooking Conundrum with Creativity

Back in 1982, my late husband Reg and I were newly married living in a rental home without a kitchen stove, but we did have a charcoal grill. The only issue was that we kept losing our favorite foods to the flames. So, Reg fashioned a simple fix using a flat piece of expanded metal to place on the grates. Suddenly, we were grilling shrimp, fish, and veggies without worry. We had no idea that we were reinventing outdoor grilling with a product that would change our lives.

Serendipity Meets Singing Hills

We loved grilling with family and friends and, one of our dear friends, Oscar Sullivan, a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry, saw us using our expanded metal topper and asked if we would make a few to sell at his little store at Singing Hills Campground near Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. That’s when “Oscarware” was born: a simple, practical tool that made grilling easier, tastier, and more fun, especially for foods that used to be off-limits on the grill.

A Marketing Primer: Demos Deliver Growth

To educate customers about and increase awareness of our grill toppers, I have grilled in parking lots, demoed in stores, appeared on QVC, done commercials and even handed out toppers backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. Stars like Roy Acuff, Porter Wagoneer, Jack Green got one!

The turning point came in 1989 at our first national trade show in Chicago, IL. I was grilling on an electric grill when a man walked into our booth, watched for a minute, handed me his card, and said, “Call me after the show.” Guess who? Walmart!!!

Persistence Delivers a Winning Strategy

Our story is original! We were the first to bring a grill topper to the market, and 36 years later, we’re still here: still family-owned, still made in the USA, and now proudly woman-owned. When I lost my husband, Reg, and then my son, Jeff, those were difficult years. But my daughter, Kelly and I stepped forward to carry on the dream. And we hope that as girls who grill, we can educate and inspire more women to grill.

We have a topper to fit every meal and every grill. Our toppers help people grill the food they love more easily, while spending time with the people they love. That’s the heart of it. When someone says, “This made my weekend BBQ easier and more fun,” that is the real win. We want to create those experiences that allow family and friends to enjoy spending quality time together, making new traditions that will last a lifetime, whether it be in their backyard, over a campfire, at a tailgate, or on vacation…just like it has with our family!

Unique Features & Domestic Manufacturing Drive Demand

Oscarware is the leading Made-in-USA manufacturer of grill toppers, including a full line of Signature Porcelain-Coated Steel Toppers and disposable toppers.

We all know the frustration of food sticking to the grill: the mess, the wasted food, the lost flavor. Over the years, many non-stick products came to market trying to solve that problem. But people quickly realized there were concerns about the safety of some of those coatings. That’s why, from the very beginning, we chose porcelain coating. It’s naturally non-stick, stands up beautifully to high heat, and doesn’t contain any of the chemicals that make people uneasy.

Whether you’re grilling shrimp, pancakes, or even a Thanksgiving turkey, our toppers make grilling easier and cleanup faster. They’re available in sizes to fit any size grill and nearly any meal. And every Oscarware product is 100% recyclable and backed by our satisfaction promise.

Our Favorite Recipe

Passions-to-Profit Series

• True Made Foods
• Hitchfire
• Sauce Goddess
• Portland Salt

Check out our 1000+ Recipes section here on Barbecue Bible.Com

Also, sign up for our Up in Smoke newsletter so you don't miss any blogs and receive some special offers! PLUS get Raichlen's Burgers! PDF for free!

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Passions-to-Profit: Celebrating the Barbecuing Entrepreneur

As the traditional end of summer, Labor Day also serves to celebrate the American work force and their commitment to productive, inventive and important contributions to our society. In this spirit of honoring America’s hard-working heroes, we’d like to dedicate the entire month of September to applaud the entrepreneurs who’ve applied their talents to making your barbecuing adventures more engaging…and tasty!

Third-in-a-Series: Sauce Goddess; a Legacy of Wholesome, Healthy and Flavorful Sauces and Spices

Father, Family and Friends; Incite Inspiration and Innovation

For as far back as I can remember, my Dad, not being enamored of liquid smoke flavor, made a special BBQ sauce for our family’s enjoyment. I had no idea it was special until I left home and tried a store-bought off of the shelf product. My disappointment in that inspired me to get my dad measuring cups so I could replicate the recipe and start making it for my friends.

Once, having enjoyed the sauces, they threw down a challenge, “don’t get old and wonder what if I’d done something with my Dad’s recipe.”

With that, I started planning my company, Sauce Goddess in October 2000 – and we’re now celebrating our 25^th anniversary! The rest of the story is now history – we’re in over 2,100 retail locations, we’ve been featured on QVC and GMA’s Deals and Steals, and we sell everywhere online.

Revising the Original Recipe, but Retaining the Essence of Flavor

In evolving Sauce Goddess products, I revised my Dad’s recipe to make it vegan friendly and more suited to consumers seeking all-natural products. Oddly, it would seem – because it is a BBQ sauce – I removed Worchester sauce to make it vegan (which it always has been). I also wanted to eliminate high fructose corn syrup. Yes, 20 years ago we were well ahead of the no HFCS and plant-based vegan!

Scaling Up and Branching Out

The biggest difference between our sauce and the majority of all store-bought BBQ sauces is that not one of the 6 flavors we make have any liquid smoke or smokey flavor at all (knowing that the best place to get smoky flavor is from the wood itself). Subsequently, none of our sauces clash with the wood chips or pellets the barbecuer chooses to use. The lack of smoky flavor also means you can use our sauces for meat or fish or veggies, making it perfect for baking, sautéing or simply grilling.

All this said, making my sauces commercially proved to be a bit tricky. The tomato paste we can buy in the store as consumers is nothing like the commercial variety used for large-scale food manufacturing – so the recipe had to be converted into a formula, something our co-packer could use to repeatably make our sauce over and over.

The other enormous obstacle was finding room on the shelves of retailers. Local stores were very open to new, locally-produced products, but national retailers were and still are an ongoing and challenging proposition.

A Winning Combination: Flavorful and Healthy!

We’re proud to use the healthiest ingredients – no flavorings, additives, preservatives, anti-caking or MSG. We’re simply using only real food to make our sauces and our spices. A seven-year old can read our labels and know what everything is – no mystery ingredients or additives.

Consumers are looking for ingredients they recognize more than ever right now. They want to consume food that tastes amazing and is actually good for them. That’s what Sauce Goddess does!

We give the barbecuer, home cook and competitor sauces and spices they can use to create an amazing, flavorful meal experiences for their friends and family.

Our Favorite Recipe

Sauce Goddess products can be found on SauceGoddess.com and Amazon.com!

Passions-to-Profit Series

• True Made Foods
• Hitchfire
• Oscarware
• Portland Salt

Check out our 1000+ Recipes section here on Barbecue Bible.Com

Also, sign up for our Up in Smoke newsletter so you don't miss any blogs and receive some special offers! PLUS get Raichlen's Burgers! PDF for free!

Follow Steven on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, and Pinterest!

Check out our store powered by BBQGuys!

The post Passions-to-Profit: Sauce Goddess appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

Passions-to-Profit: Celebrating the Barbecuing Entrepreneur

As the traditional end of summer, Labor Day also serves to celebrate the American work force and their commitment to productive, inventive and important contributions to our society. In this spirit of honoring America’s hard-working heroes, we’d like to dedicate the entire month of September to applaud the entrepreneurs who’ve applied their talents to making your barbecuing adventures more engaging…and tasty!

Second-in-a-Series: Hitchfire; We Can Build a Better Mousetrap (or, in this case, a hitch-mounted grill)!

Years ago, there was a company that manufactured a hitch-mounted grill, and it was quite successful, until it just disappeared from the market around 2007-2008. After conducting some serious market analysis, we’d determined that, perhaps, the financial crisis and subsequent layoffs, had an outsized effect on the existing market for this product, but still felt that the concept was valid and ripe for further development.

Working in stealth mode for about a year, Hitchfire started developing product in 2019, with hopes of launching in early 2020. Unfortunately, the pandemic began to unravel life as we knew it in early 2020, and, needless to say, everything became increasingly more complicated. Tradeshows where we had planned to launch Hitchfire, showcasing our new hitch-mounted grill, had to be scrapped and, eventually, we were forced into virtual launch mode in September 2020.

Patience Played an Outsized Role in Our Success

The pandemic presented a huge obstacle for launching a new company, but everyone was rewriting their playbook, so we had company in figuring out how to reach consumers and launch the Hitchfire brand. The bigger, secondary problem, was a huge spike in demand for outdoor goods, as everyone was turning toward outdoor recreation as a pandemic ‘coping’ strategy. Typically, that wouldn’t be considered an issue, but the demand for goods across the outdoor industry made freight costs skyrocket. As a young small cash constrained company, paying $20k or more for a container was unsustainable and potentially catastrophic. Luckly, we survived, but it took a lot of creativity and patience.

A Unique Selling Proposition: ‘Redefining Life at the Hitch!’

Our entire product line is hitch-mounted, and, although our flagship product is a hitch-mounted grill that deploys in seconds and allows you to keep grease and unwanted smells out of your vehicle, we also offer other hitch-mounted products like kitchens, cook stations and storage solutions. We like to say that we are redefining life at the hitch!

The primary feature of our products is a proprietary dual swing arm that allows our equipment to easily swing out to the passenger or driver side of the vehicle. The grill mounts to the top of this swing arm offering quick deployment and a convenient place to store your grill so you don’t have it sliding around your truck bed or inside, fouling up your vehicle. When you are ready to head to the big game or wild outdoors, you just turn it off and swing it shut. Tailgating has never been easier!

Our Favorite Recipe

Passions-to-Profit Series

• True Made Foods
• Sauce Goddess
• Oscarware
• Portland Salt

Check out our 1000+ Recipes section here on Barbecue Bible.Com

Also, sign up for our Up in Smoke newsletter so you don't miss any blogs and receive some special offers! PLUS get Raichlen's Burgers! PDF for free!

Follow Steven on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, and Pinterest!

Check out our store powered by BBQGuys!

The post Passions-to-Profit: Hitchfire appeared first on Barbecuebible.com.

Passions-to-Profit: Celebrating the Barbecuing Entrepreneur

As the traditional end of summer, Labor Day also serves to celebrate the American work force and their commitment to productive, inventive and important contributions to our society. In this spirit of honoring America’s hard-working heroes, we’d like to dedicate the entire month of September to applaud the entrepreneurs who’ve applied their talents to making your barbecuing adventures more engaging…and tasty!

First-in-a-Series: True Made Foods; Family Legacy and Serendipity Converge

Ryan Mitchell grew up in barbecue. He was prepping hogs and tending the coals alongside his dad, Pitmaster Ed Mitchell, for as long as he could remember. While barbecue is in his blood, growing up alongside it was a constant chore. The unrelenting work around barbecue pits initially made Ryan want to forge his own path. Ryan earned a scholarship to play football at East Carolina University, and after graduation, went into investment banking. The 2008 financial crisis then changed everything for him—Ryan was given the choice of taking a severance or moving to Singapore. He chose the severance and turned the experience into a growth event. He took a look at his life and realized that his heart and heritage was really back in barbecue.

Planting the Seeds with a Perfect Partnership

We (the Mitchell family) have primarily been restauranteurs, but we’ve always wanted to launch our own BBQ Sauces and Rubs. We suffered a number of set-backs and prejudice when trying to launch our BBQ Sauces the first time in the 2000’s and kind of gave up on the idea for awhile. But then our current business partner, Abe Kamarck, reached out to us in 2017. He had launched a no sugar, all-natural ketchup brand, True Made Foods, and wanted to expand into BBQ Sauces and was looking for a Pitmaster partner. It was the perfect fit, since at the time my dad (Ed) had just been diagnosed as pre-diabetic and we have always wanted to bring BBQ recipes back to their roots and do something different from the wall of junk you currently find in the grocery store.

Design Serves to Solve Challenges

We are still overcoming those obstacles! We’ve had lots of false starts and challenges along the way, too many to list here. The CPG space is brutal, probably tougher than the restaurant industry! One problem we have recently overcome was our labels. We let our old labels be influenced too much by the natural foods industry, so they did not represent the BBQ culture that is core to our identity. We have recently redesigned our labels to better represent our heritage. Yes, our products have no added sugars and are all-natural, but that is because we are true Pitmaster representing hundreds of years of family legacy. Our tradition and culture should lead and be the core message on our labels.

The Difference is in the Details: Wholesome Ingredients

Our No Sugar BBQ Sauces are authentic, regionally-inspired recipes that date back to when before high fructose corn syrup and cane sugar became the major ingredients in every BBQ Sauce in the grocery store. We make BBQ Sauces for people who know.

Our BBQ Sauces and Rubs are 100% natural with NO HFCS, Added Sugars, Stevia, Monk Fruit or any other non-nutritive sweeteners. Instead, we make our BBQ Sauces the way our ancestors did, with all natural, puréed spices, fruits and vegetables, providing real flavor and better performance on proteins and on the smoker.

Quite simply, they’re America’s basics, made better!

Recipe

Passions-to-Profit Series

• Hitchfire
• Sauce Goddess
• Oscarware
• Portland Salt

Check out our 1000+ Recipes section here on Barbecue Bible.Com

Also, sign up for our Up in Smoke newsletter so you don't miss any blogs and receive some special offers! PLUS get Raichlen's Burgers! PDF for free!

Follow Steven on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, and Pinterest!

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Enter here for your chance to win a Wildfire Ranch Pro 30-Inch Stainless Steel Griddle and Steven’s newest book, Project Griddle.

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