Who are you and what do you do?
We are Tailgate Spices. A spice company that allows you to take the fun of tailgating home with you. We offer high quality spices with fun names and branding! We are also an official Partner of the MN Vikings!
Where did your business name come from? Is there an interesting story behind it?
Born from the embers of tailgating at Minnesota Vikings games, the idea came about to create a unique spice collection that could upgrade our tailgating parties. Our spice names are all football and team punned filled to bring a smile to your face as you enjoy our high quality product.
How did you get started in your business?
This is my 3rd main business after starting a digital marketing company (Skol Marketing) and a professional athlete branding and marketing company (MN Sports Legends). I have always loved business and wanted to be an entrepreneur from a young age. I always sold the most candy bars or magazines as a kid in school, and had a knack for sales and business overall as I progressed my career through retail, sports management and even Google. I love brining an idea to market and deal with the challenges and successes. -Ben Theis, Tailgate Spices CEO
Why did you start working in this field?
What do you think sets your designs apart from others? Our fun panned filled names and colorful branding. Our spices really stand out when you compare those to others. Not just because of the high quality ingredients, but because of the branding as well. Also with our partnership with the MN Vikings it allows for further branding opportunities.
What do your customers love most about your product(s)?
Our fun names using football puns and the fact that our spices are really, really good. Costumes love that our spice formulas are gluten free, MSG free, Vegan (besides our bloody mary one). Other customers love that our spices are locally made in MN.
Have you always been passionate about art and design?
I love being able to create new things and design especially. Haven’t always been the most artistic with traditional art but digitally being able to make a vision come to life has been such a great experience. From our pun filled names, to our bottle designs, to all the signage and website…its such a great feeling and experience!
Is this a full-time business for you?
It’s currently part time but we hope it will be full time in the future!
What made you take this leap into being your own boss?
I wanted the ability to have failure or success be determined by my own hands and not someone elses. If I was going to succeed or fail, I wanted to be at the center of it. I love being my own boss and while its a blessing and a curse being a serial entrepreneur, work alcoholic and business owner…i do absolutely love it.
What are some tips or suggestions you would like to offer?
Ideas are cheap, execution is where you the real value is derived from. Sometimes its better to ask for forgiveness than permission. If it was easy, everyone would be a business owner or start one. Sacrifices will have to be made and if you arent willing to sacrifice you won’t make it.
What is your favorite item that you sell?
I love our 3 pack and 6 packs in gift boxes that allow our customers to pick and choose the perfect mix of spices/seasonings they want. Our gift boxes look very classic and I really love how much our customers appreciate them and the presentation of the gift boxes.
How does the city you live in influence your work?
We started Tailgate Spices first because of tailgating at MN Vikings games and being passionate fans. The city of of Minneapolis has a great foodie market and passionate football fanbase, which is are the two main ingredients to our company Tailgate Spices.
What are some inspirations for your work? Food and football!
What valuable experience/knowledge did you have before starting your business?
See above about owning 2 others business then plus this one. I felt confident starting the business because of my past experience but will say it was a little daunting as I had never done retail. It has been a huge learning experience but have loved it and have really learned alot. It has been quite different than my service based company previously but also a lot of synergy because at the end of the day business is about people, no matter what business you have!
What is the latest thing you have been working on?
We just released our newest spice “Red Zone” Spice Seasoning and are now an official partner of the Minnesota Vikings this year. We are also continuing to expand our line of seasoned salts to target the remaining teams in the NFL.
Will you be featuring any special holiday items?
How do you usually prepare for the holiday season? Our product makes a wonderful gift for that food enthusiast, football fan or hard to buy for person! So during the holiday and football season we ramp up our marketing, inventory, events and outreach. Selling our spices in single bottles, 3 packs and 6 packs along with gift boxes.
Tailgate Spices
www.tailgatespices.com
www.instagram.com/tailgatespices
www.facebook.com/tailgatespices