We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hepston Henry a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hepston, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I have been cooking since I could reach the stove. Growing up in a West Indian household, you had to know how to cook! I cooked for my friends all the time and they always asked “what did you put on this?!” It was my family recipe. I started A Little Love Seasoning with the spice blend my mother makes to season pretty much everything we ate. It worked so well on every dish. With no intentions of making this a business, I used to just give away seasoning to anyone who asked for some. Then after several requests to sell it, I did. It was Valentine’s Day weekend of 2019 and I made a batch of seasoning. I’m not much of a salesman, so I was only able to sell 3 bottles. I gave the rest to my wife the next day, and asked her to sell them at work. By lunch time she was sold out! Thinking it was a fluke, I tried again…we sold out again. It was at that moment I realized I may have something special.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My mother is from St. Croix, and my father is from Jamaica. Growing up, one of my fondest memories was the house booming with Soca and Reggae while my mother and I whipped up several herbs and spices into a unique blend for our Caribbean dishes. My father and I would then use this blend to season the food for the grill. As we sat on the patio, the silence was broken up by intermittent laughs, him sipping his beer, and guidance of how to man the grill, and life in general. Taking these lessons and skills, I created A.L.L. Seasoning. Unlike most spices you find in the store, all of my blends are low sodium, no additives, and no preservatives. I’m most proud of being able to share a little bit of my culture with the world, while giving people something great that lasts and tastes great.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When my wife and I began, we were using small mason jars. This became expensive to ship, so we started using small plastic bags. They were much easier to ship, but it was still a hassle for us to bag seasoning. We did it, though, because people loved the product and couldn’t care less about the packaging. In order to compete with leading brands on a higher level, it was imperative that changed directions again, and started using spice bottles. It is much easier to work with and it gives customers a comparable product.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

I started off with just my All-purpose seasoning; a recipe derived from my mother’s blend. I didn’t even want to measure; just guided by the spirit of my ancestors. I realized that I would need to in order to make sure everyone gets the same tasting product, every time. I really only planned to do 1 blend only. That was more than enough work for me. Then friends and family gave me ideas for other blends, and now I have over 20 different blends. Some are seasonal and some were just one and done. Finding all the herbs and spices in bulk was a slight task, but I have been able to find reliable suppliers.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.allseasoning20.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/allseasoning20
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/allseasoning20
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/allseasoning20
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoU2zL_B-8vLNWDM_4xbsJA