MEN BEHIND KINGDOM SEASONINGS … Left to right; David and Scott Rupp, Tim Slye. (PHOTO BY JENNIFER ELLISON, STAFF)
By: Jennifer Ellison
When great minds get together, amazing things can happen. Great new inventions or innovative new story ideas, or even world-changing discoveries occur when talented people come together to make a change.
But just as important as the big changes are the small changes, sometimes even more so, for they can affect the community in very big ways.
Enter Tim Slye, Scott Rupp and Scott’s son David in their bold new adventure into the world of entrepreneurship.
Tim and Scott are both active members of the Pettisville Mancave Ministries, an outreach group with the goal of reaching the hearts and souls of men of all ages through fellowship and brotherly camaraderie.
As such, the Ministry hosts many activities for the community, including cookouts and barbecues, for which Tim and Scott frequently grilled for the attendees with homemade spice rubs.
The desire to keep supporting the Ministry weighed on Scott and Tim’s minds as they considered ideas to reach their target audience.
When asked where the idea came from, Scott said, “We started thinking ‘what can we do to support the ministry?’ and also get us in front of more men.”
“Tim and I always would grill stuff, and send pictures back and forth and brag to each other and we made our own rubs and we kinda put that together and I said ‘Hey Tim! I got an idea!”
And so, the idea for Kingdom Seasonings was born, to some extent. Now came the hard part; putting the business together. Scott’s son David is studying Marketing and Finance at Indiana Wesleyan University.
David quickly took over bookkeeping and marketing for the brand while Scott and Tim settled into the task of designing flavors.
Every rub the company produces is made in Scott’s basement and tested and tweaked thoroughly until it’s finished and ready for production. It can take anywhere from one to a dozen or more attempts to perfect a new blend.
The guys are entirely self-taught, using their experience as hobbyist grill-masters to create blends from flavors they enjoy. “We think we know what tastes good, sometimes. Other times, it doesn’t work.” Tim and Scott said, laughing.
Kingdom Seasonings has produced 8 flavors and 5 dip mixes so far, including Apple Pie, Sweet Kick, and Pizza. Each new flavor is tested by tasting raw and grilled on different kinds of meat to bring out its best flavors.
And there’s no danger of running out of ideas in the near future. Tim and Scott draw from a veritable well of ideas for new blends as they focus on building their company up.
“Right now, we got so many things we want to do and we just got to find some of the products for it, so we got a lot of ideas. It’s going to take a while for us to run out of stuff.” Scott said.
While Kingdom Seasonings has been in development since late 2020, the company officially got off the ground in January 2021, with several stores agreeing to carry the brand, including Ace Hardware in Wauseon, Pettisville Meats, and Sunday’s Market.
They also sell through their online storefront on Facebook. One of the most important factors for the company is maintaining an all-natural selection of ingredients in their products.
The hope is for Kingdom Seasonings to become a national brand as opposed to a strictly local brand. Because all the blends are made in Scott’s home, the company is forced to operate under Ohio’s Cottage Food Laws, keeping the brand local and steadfast in Ohio.
David is currently working to meet the FDA requirements needed to sell their products across state lines. Scott and Tim are also looking into leasing a commercial kitchen, which would greatly open up the potential sales avenues outside of Ohio. The guesstimate and hope are for full national access within 15-18 months.
With full time jobs and with David still in school, running the company is a daunting challenge. Scott said, “We have our full-time jobs, he [Tim] has young kids, mine are almost fully grown, a lot of our stuff we do at night, I think David and I start at ten o clock tonight, he packs dips, and I bottle some more rubs, so some of our stuff is done at night, but it’s how we make it work.”
Passion for delicious food and fellowship with the men of Pettisville helped pave the way for what promises to be a versatile and highly creative seasoning company.
The guys behind Kingdom Seasonings hope to keep reaching men with the message of the Ministry as they continue to build their business.
As their business expands and the word of the Ministry extends outward, the sky is the limit for these adventurous men on a mission.
Jennifer can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com
