We recently connected with Ryan Stevenson and have shared our conversation below.

Ryan , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, what do you think about family businesses? Would you want your children or other family members to one day join your business?

As a family owned business this is a topic that is near and dear to our hearts. When my wife Nicole and I started this company back in 2020 it was nothing more than a passion project. Nicole joked I should sell my seasonings and for my birthday she bought me a business license and Shore Smoke Seasonings was born.

Getting to work with your spouse on a daily basis can be both a wonderful thing and present its challenges at times. More wonderful then challenging but its how well we both compliment each others weaknesses in areas that have made us such a successful unit. In areas of the business I don’t want any parts of she picks up the ball and runs with it where ill do the same for her and that makes us a well oiled machine. It can be tough at times because you rarely get a break from each other and 90% of your conversations are about work so keeping that personal balance can be a struggle at times.

We have 2 daughters who are both young but the oldest Isabella has taken an interest in learning some of the business. She attends local events with me selling our seasonings and can talk the talk with the best of them so she has become a valuable asset. Watching her take an interest in cooking and even finishing first place in a kids cooking competition sparked a desire and now she likes to create her own seasonings and blends. She even has her own recipe book with all her seasoning creations and all I can say is proud dad moment.

We would love to be able to pass this company down for generations to come because Nicole and I have both worked for toxic companies and when you get out and see what the real world is like and how cutthroat it can be its always the family businesses who are the best to work for. Our slogan from day one has been “Bringing friends and family together one meal at a time” so family is something that means a great deal to us.

One thing that has always stood out to us is that customer service must always be your number one priority as a family owned business. People aren’t just buying the seasoning they are buying us and what our family represents and thats what we take pride in everyday. A family owned business is only as good as its community members and we have been very fortunate to be part of such a wonderful groups along the way.

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.

In 2013 when Ryan and Nicole were starting their lives out together Ryan was given a promotion at work. Ryan decided he was going to grill up some steaks to celebrate. Not having any money to spare, due to Ryan’s recent diabetes diagnosis, and just moving into a new place together, Nicole told Ryan he had to mix up seasonings they had in the cabinet. There wasn’t any extra money to buy more seasonings. Ryan reluctantly agreed, and he started mixing up a delicious blend.

The very best steak seasoning they had ever tasted.

Ryan made extra of this blend, and they would only use it for special occasions for the next 7 years. He kept this “secret recipe” a secret from Nicole all these years until they went into business together.

Throughout the years Ryan loved mixing his own recipes and it became a passion of his. With some downtime during covid in 2020 Nicole told Ryan he should sell his seasonings; Ryan was unsure about the idea.

For Ryan’s birthday, Nicole bought him a business license, and Shore Smoke was born. Samples were handed out to their community to narrow down the top blends and to gain honest feedback from their community.

What we thought would be a little hobby, turned into a full-time business overnight. As we all found ourselves forced to eat at home because of the pandemic there was a greater need for something different, something tasty.

Ryan lost his job due to covid and never looked back. It was now or never, chase your dreams or watch them pass you by. It was only the beginning of greater things to come. With hope, a dream, an idea, a plan and a lot of passion and dedication today Shore Smoke has over 60 recipes and 9 blends currently in production. Shore Smoke is vastly growing into retail locations in the US.

Are you wondering what that first delicious seasoning blend was? It’s Game Day!

Game Day was the first seasoning Ryan ever made and today it’s one of Shore Smoke’s top sellers and one of our award-winning blends.

The hope for Shore Smoke’s future is to become a household name for generations to enjoy.

We wouldn’t be here today without our loyal customers; family & friends and we truly do appreciate all of your support.

– The Stevenson Family

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

Back in 2020 my wife Nicole had mentioned I should start selling my seasonings I made on the side. Well, it was Covid and I had a little bit of downtime because the job I was working at the time had a period of a holding pattern for a few weeks. So for my 35th birthday she bought me a business license. We began to hand out little samples of our seasonings to friends and members of the community and before long we attended our first show as a vendor. It was a small benefit event for a local family and had a great turnout and we almost sold out.

As the weeks and months passed we noticed a lot of people wanting more and before we knew it we had stores reaching out asking if they could carry our product. At this time we hadn’t even thought about that and now had to decide if we wanted to take this business to the next level. Once we decided this was something worth perusing it quickly began to take of our lives and we both were still working full time jobs. During the summer of 2021 my division at my company was eliminated and as devastating of a blow that was Nicole said “this is your time to chase your dreams” so thats what we did.

Now Shore Smoke is in over 25 states nationwide and at the end of 2023 will have close to 300 retailers nationwide. One of the things that really helped was winning 9 Scovie Awards in our first eligible year. When we found out that we not only won 9 awards but also swept first, second and third in the table seasoning category thats really what put us on the map.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients that we have found is word of mouth. As a small family owned business your reputation and how you do business can either make or break you. Word of mouth has been so key to the growth of our business and how we keep expanding. Since owning this business my mindset has always been “if you make an extra dollar but lose future business it wasnt worth it”.

Word of mouth is the absolute best way in my eyes for a small business to grow. Build a team around you that has similar visions and wants to be a part of something special.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shoresmokeseasonings.com
• Facebook: facebook/shoresmokeseasonings
• TikTok: Shore Smoke Seasonings & Tailgate Tasting Tour

Image Credits
Image Credits Nikki Plough Jay Plough Dusty Garner David Watkins Nicole Stevenson Ryan Stevenson