Reggae Reggae Sauce facts for kids
Reggae Reggae Sauce is a tasty barbecue sauce with a Jamaican jerk spice flavor. It became super popular thanks to its creator, Levi Roots. He showed off his sauce on a TV show called Dragons' Den and even sang a song to help sell it!
One of the investors from the show, Peter Jones, has said that Reggae Reggae Sauce is one of his best investments ever. He also helped Levi Roots connect with big stores.
How It All Started
On February 7, 2007, Levi Roots went on the TV show Dragons' Den. He managed to convince two investors, Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh, to put £50,000 into his company. In return, they got 40% of his business.
His appearance on the show was very memorable, and the sauce quickly became famous. Just two days later, on February 9, 2007, a big supermarket called Sainsbury's said they wanted to sell the sauce. By March 7, 2007, Reggae Reggae Sauce was available in stores all across the country!
Levi Roots even released his "Reggae Reggae Sauce Song" as a download. This was the same song he sang on Dragons' Den and also on Harry Hill's TV Burp. The money from the song went to a charity called Comic Relief. In September 2008, experts and the public voted Reggae Reggae Sauce as a "CoolBrand".
Growing the Sauce Business
Reggae Reggae Sauce is made by a company called AB World Foods. This company is part of a bigger group called Associated British Foods.
Even though Levi Roots wanted his sauce to be made in the UK, its production moved from Wales to Poland in March 2007.
At first, you could only buy the sauce in Sainsbury's supermarkets. But now, many supermarkets in the UK and Ireland sell it. A follow-up episode of Dragons' Den showed how successful the sauce was. Sainsbury's thought they would sell 50,000 bottles in the first year. Instead, they sold 40,000 to 50,000 bottles every week!
In 2008, Levi Roots launched new sauces like "Love Apple Tomato Sauce" and "Fiery Guava Dipping Sauce." He also released a cookbook called Reggae Reggae Cookbook. The "Love Apple Tomato Sauce" was later renamed "Reggae Reggae Tomato Ketchup."
Many restaurants and pubs started using the sauce too. Places like Subway, Hungry Horse, Slug and Lettuce, and Scream offered it on their menus. In July 2009, Birds Eye even released chicken with Reggae Reggae Sauce.
In the summer of 2010, snacks were added to the range. These included Reggae Reggae Peanuts and Cashews, covered in the famous sauce. Later, they launched Caribbean ready meals with the Reggae Reggae flavor.
In September 2010, Morrisons supermarket announced they would sell Levi Roots sandwiches. In April 2011, Domino's Pizza in the UK offered a special "Reggae Reggae Pizza." In 2012, KFC also launched a Reggae Reggae box meal.
The brand has grown even more. You can now find Levi Roots Jamaica Ginger Cake and Levi Roots Caribbean Crush drinks in many UK supermarkets. In 2012, a new, milder version of the sauce was also released for those who prefer less spice.
