Everything You Need To Know About Sweet Baby Ray's
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It all started with a chef and a family recipe he perfected in his Chicago basement. Now, Sweet Baby Ray's has become one of America's favorite barbecue sauces. Founders and brothers Larry and Dave Raymond and friend Mike O'Brien started the company with just "$2,000, barely a high school education, and a dream," according to Dave Raymond.
Their passion for quality barbecue allowed them to turn their operation into a $30 million brand within 20 years. Larry Raymond's son, Larry "Duce" Raymond II, told Chi Thee Wed that the gourmet sauce company has since grown to be worth about $600 million as of 2019.
When it comes to Sweet Baby Ray's, "The sauce is the boss." You'll now find the brand's bottles taking up a good chunk of shelf real estate at your local grocery store. While you're likely aware of how this tangy and sweet condiment compliments your favorite barbecued dishes, there's a lot more to be known about this coveted brand.
Sweet Baby Ray's started selling sauces after winning a rib contest
In an interview on the Sweet Baby Ray's Catering YouTube page, Dave Raymond said a salesman told him about the rib contest when he was working as a buyer for pharmaceutical prescriptions. He tapped his brother to make a barbecue sauce that they could enter into the competition. According to the Chicago Tribune, Larry Raymond started adding his personal touches to the ingredients in 1982 and perfected it by 1985.
That's when figured it was time to give the contest a shot. The Mike Royko Ribfest was the largest rib cooking challenge in the country at the time. It was started by nationally-syndicated Chicago columnist Mike Royko in 1982. The Raymond brothers beat out 700 contestants and won second place the very first time they entered in 1985. Dave Raymond said they were completely shocked and very grateful to win, adding, "It was one of the first times in my life where I felt like I was on top of the world."
The brothers decided to follow the lead of the contest's first-ever winner Charlie Robinson. Robinson, who was also working with a family recipe, beat our 400 other contestants for first place and started selling his own branded sauce. The Raymond brothers began bottling their sauce under the name Sweet Baby Ray's and credits its success is to staying close to its roots.
It's one of best-stelling barbecue sauces on the market
When we surveyed 601 of our readers in a poll, 53.74% said that Sweet Baby Ray's was their favorite barbecue sauce. In an interview with Chi the Wed, Duce Raymond said it's the "best-selling barbecue sauce in retail history, and they sell more than the next seven sauces combined." So, it's kind of a big deal. At least when it comes to condiments.
The Chicago-born sauce line remains at the top of its game today. In 2023, Market Research Future named the company a "key player" in the barbecue sauce market, which they estimate will reach $2.1 billion by 2027. One of the drivers of demand for sauces like Sweet Baby Ray's is an increase in the desire for roasted and grilled vegetables and meat, as well as a jump in total disposable consumer incomes. Sweet Baby Ray's first grabbed the majority market share of the barbecue sauce industry in 2010.
This is who the real Sweet Baby Ray is...
The real Sweet Baby Ray is neither a baby nor a person named Ray. The brand got its name from a nickname Dave Raymond received while playing basketball on Chicago's west side where he grew up. It was a rough neighborhood and basketball offered him refuge. "If you wanted to go out, you either had to kind of be in a gang or play sports, and I opted for playing sports. And basketball became a real love of mine and a real integral part of me growing up and having confidence," Dave Raymond said in a YouTube video.
The fellas in the neighborhood would call Larry Raymond "Ray" because of his last name. Since Dave Raymond was his younger brother, they called him "Baby Ray." Baby Ray was playing a basketball game with a team that was highly skilled, so Dave Raymond was working really hard on the court to impress. He made a move, and one of the guys looked up and said, "Hey! That's sweet, Baby Ray." Since that day, Dave Raymond's nickname on the streets of Chicago became Sweet Baby Ray; the nickname stuck and became the name of their business.
The company was sold to another purveyor of dressings
Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce line is no longer owned by the Raymond family. The brand was sold in 2003 for $30 million to the Massachusetts-based Ken's Foods, known for salad dressings. The Raymond family, however, acquired the right to continue using the name Sweet Baby Ray's for restaurants and a catering company. Strategizing about how to dominate grocery store shelves and other marketing worries was among the reasons the Raymonds decided to sell Sweet Baby Ray's sauce line.
"If you like making sauce, don't get into the sauce business. You have to wear too many hats to actually cook anymore," Dave Raymond told Food Republic. Ken's Foods' acquisition of Sweet Baby Ray's was a wild success. In a 2016 interview, he said that the company became a $560 million brand. Dave Raymond says he's exceedingly "proud" of what Ken's Foods has accomplished with the barbecue sauce line.
"Knowing where the product is today and knowing the success that they have, and knowing that we could not have done that on our I just could not be more proud. I get with Duce's dad, my brother, the creator of Sweet Baby Ray's, and we invariably wind up crying about it," David Raymond said.
But Sweet Baby Ray's is still a family affair
In addition to being started from a family recipe and named after the founder's brother, Sweet Baby Ray's continues to be a family affair. Though Larry Raymond passed away in May 2021, his son Duce Raymond has continued the family's tradition of culinary excellence. Duce Raymond co-owns the Sweet Baby Ray's restaurant with his uncle Dave Raymond and serves as managing partner and director of culinary for their catering and event companies.
Duce Raymond was "destined to become a leader in the food hospitality business." Since his dad worked at restaurants when he was a kid, he was entrenched in food service from an early age. He got his first restaurant job when he was 12 and went on to pursue a degree in culinary arts at Kendall Culinary School.
Duce Raymond specializes in cooking Southern and Central American fare. He's been acknowledged for his barbecue skills at Taste of Chicago, Naperville Ribfest, KCBS Barbecue Competition, and Wrigley Rooftops. He even started his own line of barbecue sauces and rubs called Duce's Wild and hosts the weekly TikTok show "Barbecue Like a Boss."
Sweet Baby Ray's dosen't only do BBQ sauce
While Sweet Baby Ray's is known for its award-winning original barbecue recipe, the brand also sells more than 20 glorious flavors of sauces. And they're not just barbecue sauces; the company also has hot, dipping, and wing sauces, as well as marinades.
You'll literally want to run right out and try some of these. Some of the barbecue flavors include Honey Chipotle, Hawaiian, and Sweet Vidalia Onion. As for the wing sauces, you have choices like Garlic Parmesan, Sweet Red Chili, and Kickin' Bourbon. Sweet Baby Ray's sells two types of teriyaki marinades, a hot sauce, and dipping sauces, like Ray's Chicken Sauce, that you'll want to smother over everything.
It totally makes sense, then, that one of the company mottos at Ken's is: "Without it, food is barely worth eating." It's hard to argue with that one. If you can't find your favorite Sweet Baby Ray's sauce at your grocery store, you can buy them directly from the website.
Sweet Baby Ray's has a secret sauce
No sauce causes excitement quite like a a good "secret" or "special" sauce." Though none of these mysterious condiments ever taste alike, they are all often orange in hue. Since "The Sauce is the Boss" for Sweet Baby Ray's and secret sauces reign supreme among all of them, it only made sense that the company would have its own orangey offering.
If you asked us what Sweet Baby Ray's second-best product is after Original, we'd tell you it's Ray's Secret Sauce. "Ray's name appears on the front of the bottle twice, so you know this is one serious sauce," the company writes.
While you might assume that Ray's Secret Sauce is some kind of ketchup and mayo mixture, that is not the case at all. It has a creamy horseradish flavor without being too spicy. It's made with egg yolks, horseradish, yellow mustard, turmeric, paprika, and garlic, and we want to put it on everything.
Sweet Baby Ray's Gourmet Sauces are acceptable for these diets
Sweet Baby Ray's has sauces that everyone can enjoy, regardless of dietary restrictions. Those eating a Kosher or keto diet can still slather on the "No Sugar Added" products, which are OU Kosher Certified. The No Sugar Added line is also vegetarian and vegan friendly, except for its Honey Mustard, as it contains eggs.
Most of the products in the Sweet Baby Ray's line are gluten-free and will state this on the label. The company's manufacturing facilities have restrictions to ensure they are compliant. However, any products that do contain grains like wheat or barley will lack a label and have those ingredients listed on the back of the bottle.
The majority of Sweet Baby Ray's products do not contain allergens. However, the company follows the FDA's food labeling requirements, so allergens like milk, nuts, soy, and fish will be listed on the back of the product's label as well.
These are Sweet Baby Ray's best sellers
While Sweet Baby Ray's has an array of sauces to please individual taste buds, there are two flavors that are the most popular. Dave Raymond told Food Republic the company's Original and Sweet & Spicy barbecue sauces are the main products that drive sales. They can be found in more than 95% of the grocery stores in the U.S.
The Original is used for more than barbecue in a lot of American kitchens. "This sauce is amazing, [a] perfect blend of sweet, spicy, smoky, and tart. I even use this BBQ sauce as a salad dressing sometimes!" wrote one reviewer on Amazon.
Another happy customer on Amazon stated that the Sweet & Spicy flavor is "just about perfect," while yet another review noted that it's his favorite out of the Sweet Baby Ray's bunch. "Usually go through about four bottles over the summer. So, when I can buy a six-pack on here for the price of two in the store, the decision is a no-brainer!"
You can eat at Sweet Baby Ray's restaurant
Do you love this barbecue sauce so much that you wish you could get a meal handcrafted by the passionate people who invented it? Well, you can! Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue restaurant is open daily in Wood Dale, Illinois, and the menu is filled with delicious barbecue dishes featuring Sweet Baby Ray's sauces.
The restaurant, which opened in 2005, boasts of having "the best ribs and barbecue in the Chicagoland area." The menu also includes a variety of smoked meats, salads, burgers, sandwiches, and homemade desserts. You'll also find dishes that include one of 10 Sweet Baby Ray's sauces that are exclusive to the restaurant. The 36-seat counter service barbecue joint has four out of five stars on Yelp with one reviewer commenting, "This place never disappoints, I've been here many times and I love the ribs, brisket, green Chile Mac n cheese and their deserts are thoughtfully paired with the meals. The banana pudding was delicious."
Sweet Baby Ray's has no sugar added versions of your favorite sauces
One of the main reasons we love Sweet Baby's Ray's barbecue sauce is because it's sweet and thick. All that deliciousness is derived from high fructose corn syrup, which is its first ingredient. But with people being more health conscious these days, some prefer to steer clear of all that extra sugar. That doesn't mean you have to say goodbye to Sweet Baby Ray's, though.
The company has an entire line of "No Sugar Added" products for those concerned about high sugar content. There are sugar-free versions of the Original, Hickory, and Sweet & Spicy barbecue flavors as well as the Honey Mustard dipping sauce.
Each of these sauces contains only 1 gram of sugar per serving. That small amount comes from naturally occurring sugars called allulose, which is found in foods like tomatoes, dates, figs, and corn. When metabolized, allulose doesn't turn into glucose and won't raise insulin levels.
Sweet Baby Ray's can cater your wedding
We've all heard about those cooky couples who get married at their favorite food joints like Pizza Hut or Dunkin' Donuts. You can also opt to have Sweet Baby Ray's at your wedding, but in a more formal fashion. While you won't be able to wed in the restaurant itself, you can have the company cater your reception. SBR Events Group was started after the restaurant was opened in 2005 when people began asking them to cater their parties. Duce Raymond said that's when they decided to start offering their barbecue menu in larger quantities.
The Raymond family bought a boutique catering company called True Cuisine Catering in 2010 to deliver more upscale offerings. So, there are two catering companies under SBR Events Group: Sweet Baby Ray's Catering Company and True Cuisine Catering and Special Events. Duce's Wild BBQ Sauce is also under the SBR Events Group umbrella.
Sweet Baby Ray's Catering brings fun and frivolity, along with tantalizing barbecue dishes to picnics, corporate events, cocktail parties, and other events. True Cuisine offers a more sophisticated catering experience that can bring Italian, South American, Korean, or Latin fare to elegant occasions like showers, dinner parties, or bar and bat mitzvahs. Both off-shoots are available to cater your wedding.