A West Point-based company affiliated with Bryan Foods has obtained national recognition, including endorsements from NASCAR and a nationally-acclaimed chef.
2 Brothers Brand barbecue sauce is derived from a special family recipe the Bryan family has used for years, 2 Brothers President Mike Reilly said, talking over the phone from New York the day before he was to appear with his sauce on the “Today” show.
2 Brothers sauce is one of several attempts by the Bryan family to bring these family recipes into the consumer market, he added.
The Web site states the mission of the company: “In honor of John and WB Bryan, founders of the 1936 Bryan Brothers Packing Company, we’ve created recipes that are rich in both taste and tradition. Use our sauce and seasoning to add a distinctly Southern essence to pork, beef, fish, steak, burgers or anything else you cook in the kitchen or on the grill.”
Two cousins, Wilkes Bryan and Bill Atkins, joined together to bring this special recipe to the consumer market in honor of their family.
“Wilkes’ family has been in the food business for generations,” Atkins said in a news article. NASCAR recently adopted 2 Brothers sauce as its officially licensed sauce, Reilly said.
“They understood the Bryans are an authority in the business, and they chose us to represent the [Bryan] brand to the nation,” Reilly said.
Reilly said in a news article in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal that this will provide an opportunity for the company to reach out to an audience that its sauce has not appealed to in the past.
Vice-president of NASCAR Licensing Mark Dyer, in a news article, said: “This office will work closely with Wal-Mart and other mass retailers and will benefit both corporate partners and licensees as the sport of NASCAR touches nearly every department at Wal-Mart in some way.”
The sauce has close ties to Mississippi State University, Reilly said.
“The first time we provided our product to the public was at the fall Alabama-Mississippi State game,” he said. “We got our start at Mississippi State.”
Atkins compared the company’s beginnings to a popular drink coming from another school in the Southeastern Conference.
“It was a lot like the creation of Gatorade, born out of the Swamp in Florida: 2 Brothers was born out of Scott Field on the campus of MSU. We knew we wanted to introduce 2 Brothers using sports marketing, and MSU and the University of Alabama really helped us to find that niche,” Atkins said.
The company also signed a contract with Mario Batali, who was voted 2005 James Beard Chef of the Year, he said.
“We’re thrilled for having validation from not only the fastest growing sport in America, but also from the premier chef in America,” Reilly said.