We had the good fortune of connecting with Jared Drinkwater and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jared, what do you attribute your success to?
People say it’s easier to take a swing on a start up when you’re young and don’t have a family to pay for. I actually think the complete opposite. While we still have a long way to go to claim victory with Low and Slow, there’s virtually zero chance I could have gotten the idea to where it is without my 20+ years of brand marketing experience, including 7 in the snack industry at Frito-Lay. The people I’ve met along the way have given me a wide network to tap into across retail, advertising and manufacturing. More importantly, my family has been my rock and their support has given me the drive to keep pushing. Failure is not an option when you have 5 other people that depend on you. It’s a great motivator. There are so many different paths one can take in their march towards entrepreneurial success, but I believe my unique collection of diverse experiences has led me here. Truly excited for the future of our brand.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Having spent the past 20 years living in Texas, I’ve become somewhat of a BBQ fanatic. Four years ago while talking BBQ over dinner with a good friend, we had the insight that BBQ in the snack food world just represented BBQ sauce seasoning. Sauce, while great, is the least authentic/important aspect of a memorable BBQ experience. So I went home, grabbed a bag of corn chips, covered it with a rub I had in the pantry and threw them into my backyard smoker. The family devoured them. Low and Slow Snacks was born (sort of).

It took me and my partner (the former head of R&D at Frito-Lay) almost four years to create a novel manufacturing process capable of smoking millions of pounds of chips a year. We tried everything, and almost gave up several times before landing on the current process. The result? Opening up a bag of Low and Slow Hickory Smoked BBQ Potato, Corn or Tortilla Chips smells like walking into your favorite BBQ joint or opening the door to your backyard smoker. Why should people care? Well, people who love BBQ know the experience they get at a top notch BBQ joint or smoking a brisket with family and friends offers an opportunity to reconnect and slow life down a bit. I mean where else can you go in this world and see people smiling who have been waiting in line for 2-3 hours to eat lunch? BBQ is a special thing, and if we somewhat replicate that feeling (like Corona has done giving people the feeling they are on the beach every time they open a bottle) when someone opens our bags, I think we have a shot…

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
During covid we had the good fortune of packing up our family of six (with our dog Willow) and living in Breckenridge for 2 months. My wife and I discovered the restaurant Modis on Main street and literally ate on the rooftop there 4 nights a week. I highly recommend their ramen and the mussels. We also happened to stumble upon a BBQ festival that summer in nearby Frisco where I ate the best ribs I’ve ever had from a BBQ supply shop in Denver called Proud Souls BBQ. I still dream about those ribs and have yet to replicate them in my backyard, but continue to try…

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to give a shoutout to my Dad who passed away 13 years ago. He taught me at an early age that laughter makes life better, and to not take the world too seriously. I think this approach as enabled me to stay level headed in the midst of the greatest challenge of my professional career – Building a brand from scratch.

Website: www.lowandslow.com

Instagram: @lowandslowsnacks

Linkedin: Low and Slow Snacks

Twitter: Lownslowsnacks

Facebook: Low and Slow Snacks

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