Midwest Best Barbecue Sauce. The name makes you think is from a simple, understated state like Ohio that’s not too fancy and not too flashy. And you be correct, sir. That’s too bad, in my opinion. This Ohio-an sauce presents itself in a far too subtle manner to reveal what they are trying to express on the label. They’ve got no high fructose corn syrup, no MSG, and it’s gluten-free. Big benefits! They also end their label copy with the bold statement of It’s So Good, Some Have Been Known to Drink It. So impressive elements/ingredients, some bold statements. What I would do is really lighten up your label a bit – make it fun.
Show Ohio as the center of the universe. Show Midwest Best Barbecue Sauce right next to the the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame… Besides, what else is in Ohio that people know of anyway?? Drew Carey?
The bigger question is… how does it smell and taste and … how does it move?
The smell of the sauce has a LOT going on in there. I smell ketchup first, then honey, then garlic maybe, and then maybe lemon… Take pretty much any variety of BBQ sauce and put them together – and you’ve got this one. Ingredients include ketchup, honey, dark brown sugar, hot sauce, worcestershire sauce, natural spices, and lemon juice. Before I taste the sauce, I’m really hoping this “graveyard BBQ sauce” approach will prove to be not too mixed up.
The sauce has a slightly thinner than ketchup consistency, but I’m giving it a 4 for texture because of it’s extreme sticking power. The sauce has a reddish brown, natural appearance and lots of little specks of spice/life. The flavor proves to be a lot milder than expected but nonetheless quite pleasant, agreeable, and commendable – it tastes like a homemade sauce recipe that I made last year… The sauce is good enough to support a stronger marketing presence. I’d step up the bottle / label design and maybe even come out with a splashier and bolder name!
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Site Editor, BBQ Sauce Lover, Family Guy, Hi Tech Marketer by Day. He recently wrote the Ebook “How to Market Your BBQ Sauce” which can be purchased on this site.
I don’t think having a flashy label and or bottle will sell any more sauce. Sweet Baby Ray’s is proof of that. The product is more important than the package… With one exception and thats Bone Suckin Sauce. Both their label and their product are truley awful.