The Alpine Sauce Co

In January 2020, bushfires threatened the alpine town of Bright. Kevin and Susan had to close their restaurant during the busiest time of the year, and took refuge in an army barracks. Returning 11 days later, they had to discard $20,000 worth of product and were on the brink of bankruptcy.

In an attempt to save their livelihoods, they set up an online store to sell their popular Memphis Style BBQ sauce. Their story went viral. A social media post showing their empty fridge was spotted by the ‘Empty Esky’ campaign. They challenged 100 followers to buy a bottle. That ended up being 500 and then 1000 the next day.

This sparked a huge media following. The Alpine Sauce Co became the ‘good news story’ coming out of Victoria through TV, newspapers, magazines, and the web. It was a story of tenacity and the Australian spirit of never giving up despite extraordinary circumstances.

But as that challenge was overcome, coronavirus restrictions set in, so they turned their attention to finding stockists, and added new products to their line. 

The Alpine Sauce Co are making significant advances for their business. They’ve increased the number of stockists while maintaining their existing customer base. Trademarking their business name was an exciting validation of their work. Their success story has even reached foreign shores with a feature on The Alpine Sauce Co appearing on CNN.

Incredibly they’ve managed to hold onto their restaurant. It will reopen as soon as tourists can return to the region. The Alpine Sauce Co is very excited about its future. Tomorrow looks much brighter for the family from Bright who never gave up.