Think Local First | DC Locals Mean Business!

There is an old African proverb that says, “It takes a village to raise a child”. To many entrepreneurs, their businesses are like children and for Brennan Proctor, Uncle Brutha’s Gourmet Foods would not be a viable company without the support of his local DC community.

Like many business owners, Brennan Proctor has had highs and lows that have forced him to adapt his business plan. Over the last seven years, Uncle Brutha’s Hot Sauce has gone from being produced on a small scale to larger scale and has cycled back to the local model that proved true in the beginning— creating a community of business partners and consumers in the community that he is from, DC.

After many years of jobs in sales, automotives and music, Brennan Proctor turned 10 years of experimentation with his highly requested hot sauce recipe into a viable business model. His signature sauces, concoctions flavored with chilies, garlic and ginger had been a hit for years, but could it be a ticket to being his own boss? Proctor thought, “Why not?”

“Everywhere I went people wanted my (hot) wings, next thing I knew, I was packaging my product for not only my own Christmas list but for others,” explains Proctor. When he sold his house in California for seed money and tapped into his DC network things began to happen.

In early 2004 it was Takoma Park Food Co-op and the sales of several local businesses that got Uncle Brutha underway. “They (TPFC) understood the power of local before local was cool,” explain Proctor.

With each staged tasting Proctor began to grow. By 2006 he had moved from just selling in local stores to producing at a larger scale and having his own store at Eastern Market. The store, Uncle Brutha’s Hot Sauce Emporium, was popular but the lack of foot traffic and the fire forced him to close in 2008. Many businesses fold after five years and some entrepreneurs would have thrown in the towel, but Brennan just used the towel to clean up the hot sauce he continued to make.

Nearly three years after the Eastern Market setback, Proctor is once again a viable business. He localized his office to his home in the U Street corridor and his production to a local facility in Alexandria. This allowed him to cut down costs, increase quality and focus on a sustainable model for business growth—- the local DC market. Adding customers daily with local restaurants and retail, he owes his success to the local community. Sales have soared since restaurants such as Ben’s Chili Bowl have began using his product. Rumor has it that they sell a ton of wings every month.

With plans of adding at least one new sauce in the next year, Proctor has begun to work on packaging, marketing and other growth vehicles for the future. He is not sure where Uncle Brutha will be in the next five years but he is certain that he will still be relying on his local DC community for support.

Learn more at “www.unclebrutha.com”: www.unclebrutha.com.

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