Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kedric Barrett. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kedric, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Hype Seasonings is my small business and I craft gourmet seasoning blends. The concept for me was an easy one. I’ve always been a person who loves to cook and I have a passion for it. Blending seasonings was something I did to enhance the flavors of the dishes that I was crafting. My first blend, Memphis City Blues started out as a French fry seasoning for my sons. I started testing it out on other foods like chicken and fish and it was a hit. It became my all purpose seasoning. After my weight loss surgery I became an influencer on social media and I was posting cooking videos using my seasonings. The feedback that I was getting let me know that I was on to something and I should try to bottle it and sell it. My unique approach with my first blend is the fact that it is a low sodium seasoning and that was my selling point. My first batch sold out and I knew then that I had something special!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

A little about me. I’m a married father with three sons and I’m three years post-op weight loss surgery and to date I’ve lost 245 lbs. At my heaviest I was 461 lbs. and killing myself slowly with a mountain of health problems. Like I said previously cooking is my love language and it was easy to start my small business because of this. Cooking comes easy to me and I enjoy doing it and it comes out in the reels that I do on Instagram. I’m able to show people that eating after weight loss surgery doesn’t have to be boring and you don’t have to be stuck eating rabbit food for the rest of your life. I’m dispelling all of the misconceptions surrounding weight loss surgery and eating. I show people daily that you can eat good food and still maintain your weight loss after surgery through moderation and balance. What sets me apart from others is my drive and determination to not fail at this and to keep going no matter what. I spent over thirty years overweight and I was given a second chance on life and I’m not going to let anything or anyone stand in my way of enjoying the second half of my life. Hype Seasonings is my baby and I’m building my business one brick at a time because I want the foundation to be solid. I currently offer two blends, Memphis City Blues my all purpose blend and Taco Tuesday my taco blend.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I built my audience on social media by just being me. Authenticity is what people really want to see on social media and it’s what will draw people to you. I had no expectations in the beginning I started my Instagram page to keep myself accountable and I felt of I put myself out there then my feet would be held to the fire and I wouldn’t want to fail in front of my peers. My advice is to just be you and be the best you and nothing else.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson that I’ve had to unlearn was about expectations. What you think should happen and when it should happen nine times out of ten it won’t happen that way. I expected my business sales to go through the roof because I had 20K plus followers on Instagram and they were all going to buy from me and support my business. Wrong! That taught me a valuable lesson because I just knew that I would have instant success and I was highly disappointed because that didn’t happen. I no longer set expectations and I just go with the flow, but remain consistent and diligent with trying to make sales.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hypeseasonings.com
• Instagram: @sleevedbelievethehype
• Facebook: Sleeved Believe The Hype Podcast
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/SleevedBelieveTheHypePodcast
• Other: @hypeseasonings Instagram