Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce was developed in the early 1980s by Chicago brothers Dave and Larry Raymond. They named the sauce after a nickname Dave had earned as a basketball player.[1] In 1982, the brothers entered their sauce in a Chicago barbecue competition for the first time. In 1985, their fourth year of competition, Sweet Baby Ray's won second place out of a field of 700 competitors. The following year, the brothers incorporated as a business and began selling the sauce to consumers.[2]
The Raymonds sold the business in 2005 to Ken's Foods for $30 million.[3] At the time, the brand was earning $30million in revenue and had 21% total USmarket share.[4] By 2008, the sauce had become the second best-selling barbecue sauce in the United States.[5]
Despite selling the sauce business, Dave Raymond retained the rights to the name "Sweet Baby Ray's",[6] and currently operates two restaurants under the name located in Chicago.[5]
After an interview with Mark Zuckerberg in 2021 where a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's sauce was seen in the background, media mentions of the brand name were worth $2 million dollars. [7]
Currently, there are 26 varieties of Sweet Baby Ray's sauces. [8] They range from sweet to spicy, and even branch into other mustard varieties. In 2020, the brand released a no sugar added line of sauces, which was expanded in 2021. [9]
In March 2022, Mashed released the results of a survey of 695 people. Over 48% of them ranked Sweet Baby Ray's as their favorite barbecue sauce. The sauce that was ranked second in the survey was selected by just over 15% of the respondents.[10]
^ abPizek, Jeff (June 27, 2008). "Sweet Baby Ray's". Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, Illinois. p. 38. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
