From zero to 200: NASCAR licensing puts 2 Brothers BBQ Sauce in the driver's seat

( West Point, Miss.)

The West Point , Miss.-based company 2 Brothers is pursuing a drive down victory lane from a licensing and promotional standpoint with an agreement made this summer making 2 Brothers BBQ Sauce "The Official ly Licensed BBQ Sauce of NASCAR. "

2 Brothers joins the NASCAR family, which includes such large corporations as Coca Cola, Budweiser and Kellogg's. NASCAR has become one of the hottest sports markets in the nation -- a market 2 Brothers hopes to conquer, as pre-race tailgating and barbecuing has become almost as popular as NASCAR itself.

The partnership between the two seemed highly logical, as the roots of the companies are comparably strong and binding. While families such as the Frances, Pettys, Waltrips, Earnhardts, and Allisons may be synonymous with NASCAR, 2 Brothers also has strong family ties, especially when it comes to barbecue and great food.

With the creation of the 2 Brothers Brand, initially featuring 2 Brothers Original BBQ Sauce and 2 Brothers Original Seasoning, the third generation of the Bryan family has brought a great southern family back in the food business. Named after John and W.B. Bryan, the two brothers who began Bryan Brothers Packing in 1936, 2 Brothers is a continuance of the long association between the Bryans and Southern family recipes. Behind the 2 Brothers name are partners Wilkes Bryan and Bill Atkins.

"Wilkes' family has been in the food business for generations," said Atkins. "Food is not just our occupation, it's our life's passion. We have created a brand consisting of versatile cooking products that follow the taste of tradition established by the family founders. We know food and we have developed products over the years that make good food taste great."

Bryan concurred with Atkins by stating, "Our original sauce and seasoning, is not just for meat and not just for the grill. We have something you can use for every meal on any kind of food you are preparing."

When it came time to market the product, Bryan chose an approach that was very grassroots-oriented: take the product to the people.

"I wanted to start this business the same way Bryan Foods began -- by going around, talking to people about our product and getting them try it," stated Bryan.

Sporting events and sports marketing played major roles in the early marketing days of 2 Brothers, for long before there was NASCAR, there was Mississippi State University (MSU) football in Starkville, Miss., approximately 20 miles from West Point. With a locked in demographic of pre-game cook-outs and parties, the SEC football fan base was the perfect audience for the birth of 2 Brothers, which made its official public debut during the MSU-University of Alabama (UA) game of 2003. Today, the 2 Brothers Experience is a welcomed favorite at all MSU home games, as well as many UA games in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

"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," said Atkins.

2 Brothers President Mike Reilly also saw the need and importance of sports marketing. With the proverbial prize of a NASCAR tie-in always on his horizon, Reilly compiled the first inception of the 2 Brothers Experience, which consisted of the 2 Brothers Grilling Team and a NASCAR simulator with the 2 Brothers logo on the car. The project was carried by an 18-wheeler to parking lots across the South and eventually, the time, effort and expense paid off for the company -- 2 Brothers was to become "The Officially Licensed BBQ Sauce of NASCAR.

"Partnering with NASCAR was a monumental event for 2 Brothers," stated Reilly. "This allows us a venue in which to expose our product to at least 75 million brand-loyal NASCAR fans throughout the country. NASCAR is the nation's fastest growing spectator sport and 2 Brothers is thrilled to be a part of it."

According to a public relations spokesperson for NASCAR, fans of the sport purchase more than $2 billion in officially licensed merchandise and they are three times more likely to purchase products with the NASCAR logo, statistics that Reilly knows in his sleep.

"NASCAR fans are loyal to NASCAR products, and 2 Brothers is not only a NASCAR product, it is a quality product," said Reilly. "NASCAR has a huge locked-in tailgating scene. Now, it's up to us to make 2 Brothers the choice at these pre-race cook-outs."

In an effort to gain exposure at these pre-race events, Reilly and Bryan recently traveled to Pocono, Penn., for the Nextel Pennsylvania 500. While in Pocono, they unveiled a new version of the 2 Brothers Experience. NASCAR Chef Mario Batali joined the Experience in preparing an old-fashioned BBQ for the drivers and owners. According to Reilly, Batali plans to feature 2 Brothers recipes in his upcoming NASCAR cookbook.

With a NASCAR endorsement in less than two years of its inception, 2 Brothers seems to be a company on the rise. However, at the end of the day, Bryan's philosophy probably best explains the company's position in life. " Any way you use it, food prepared with 2 Brothers tastes great. Our slogans, ' A Taste of Tradition' and ' It Runs in the Family' affirm our commitment to quality products such as the ones my father and grandfather developed during their many years in the food industry," he said