Today we’d like to introduce you to Starr Edwards.
Hi Starr, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Bitchin’ Sauce began in 2010, originally as an offering for an aspiring personal chef business. Eight jars of sauce were brought to the San Marcos Farmers Market to sample and they sold out! Over the next year, we expanded to over 26 Farmers Markets in San Diego county and shortly thereafter leased a commercial kitchen in Carlsbad. Eventually, we began to seek out retail partners and were so fortunate to have found great mentors in the local San Diego grocery stores. We slowly increased our distribution to LA, the Bay Area, and then east of the Rockies. Bitchin’ Sauce is now nationwide and continues to be family-owned and operated. And super tasty. And totally Bitchin’!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not a smooth road! I love Gaffigan’s quote on parenthood, “…imagine you’re drowning and then someone hands you a baby.” Building this business has been like traveling through the desert with no map, no water, no money, your whole extended family, and then someone hands you a blender.
Some interesting struggles:
Finding ingredients – From scouring every Sprouts for BOXES of Cilantro and bulk Nutritional Yeast to traveling abroad to find ethical oil supply chains, this has been a constant challenge.
Christmas Day spent drafting architectural plans for our new commercial kitchen in order to save money. Sadly, that official that told me I needed these plans as part of my application was misinformed and they were totally unnecessary.
Learning and implementing Nutritional Facts and writing a 500 page Food Safety Plan. Trying to kindly explain to my family in early days that you can’t just change the recipe, because it changes the nutritional facts. That you cannot leave food in your locker.
Making sauce while pregnant and extremely sensitive to all smells.
Missing out on important life events because the whole family works for the business and someone has to stay behind and keep things afloat.
Sauce blowing up because it was not optimized to ship to high elevation (Denver).
Sauce blowing up because the reefer van tipped on the freeway.
Sauce blowing up because the blender lid was not secure.
A thousand sauces falling like rain when the cold storage shelving collapsed.
Breaking my pinky at the very beginning our biggest Farmer’s Market and rocking the rest of market with a smile.
Scaling with no money or training.
Inspiring our team to be fearless, to give and serve when it feels the most uncomfortable.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Born from a mom’s heart and made famous at farmers markets across Southern California, Bitchin’ Sauce is the cult-favorite, almond-based dip that’s taking taste buds by storm. Plant-based, gluten-free, and endlessly versatile, Bitchin’ Sauce makes everything taste Bitchin’, from veggies and burgers to tacos, bowls, and beyond. Outside the kitchen, Bitchin’ Sauce is dedicated to giving back through its Bitchin’ Givin’ Program, donating time, resources, and product to support communities in need. Guided by the company’s core values to “Do Good, Be Good,” Bitchin’ Sauce has contributed thousands of volunteer hours and philanthropic efforts to organizations that make the world a little more Bitchin’.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
For the past 4 years, while still operating Bitchin’ Sauce, our family & friends (no less than 16 at a time) has spent several weeks each quarter traveling through EU while my husband played rock shows and I searched for and vetted the most Bitchin’ ingredients.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bitchinsauce.com
- Instagram: @bitchinsauce
Image Credits
Miller Hawkins, Lauren Farrah
