Smokin’ hot BBQ business: How one company pivoted after the recession
Photo / Tim Greenway
Chad and Nicole Humphrey, co-founders of Humphrey’s BBQ, Inc. and Maine Source Machining Co.
Chad and Nicole Humphrey make some of the world’s most sought-after barbecue smokers, a niche they entered when their precision-machining business slumped during the recession. These smokers aren’t like most you see at family cookouts. Humphrey’s units range in price from $1,000 to over $6,000. The couple’s barbecue business and parent company have seven employees.
Mainebiz: Describe how you made the transition from industrial machining to being a producer of high-end barbecue smokers. Why did you decide to go into this niche?
Chad Humphrey: The transition was an easy one. We were fully tooled to work with sheet metal, so we were all set. We always wanted to build our own products, and we enjoy outdoor cooking. When the recession hit and our customers were slowing down, we decided it was time to try something new.
Nicole Humphrey: We have always been interested in barbecue. Our friends had a barbecue competition team. We would tinker on their smokers over the weekends, fixing them to run more efficiently.
MB: What are your individual roles in the business, and what’s it like working with your spouse?
CH: My role is managing the precision-machining side and handling the finances and HR. Working with your spouse definitely has its advantages and disadvantages. In the beginning, it was definitely harder, but over the years we have found each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
NH: We have learned over the years that we each have our strengths. Chad is very good at building relationships, sales and overall business handling, and I have a good design aesthetic, and a capability to problem-solve.
MB: Barbecue isn’t a typical Maine food, and your retailers are in the Midwest and California. Is your location in Maine a help or a hindrance, and why?
CH: In the beginning, it did make things a little more difficult. Customers don’t like to pay for shipping, and sending a 500-pound crate to a state like South Dakota is expensive. Over time we were able to get excellent freight rates and build partnerships with different carriers, so now it isn’t as much of an Issue.
NH: Yes, the majority of our sales are to the west of New England, but we have seen the barbecue niche grow in this area more rapidly within the last few years. Still, the Midwest is a better demographic — they collect barbecue smokers like Mainers collect four-wheelers and snowmobiles.
MB: Barbecue is trendy these days — just think of the barbecue reality-TV shows that are so popular, and the growing professional “pitmaster” circuit. What do you make of all that?
CH: Competition barbecue really helped position our brand as one of the tops in the world. Several world championships have been won using our equipment.
NH: I find the trend inspirational. I’m always looking for that new way to use your smoker. For example, pizza and desserts are easily made in our smokers. Barbecue is now considered “high-end,” and many restaurants are adding smokers to their cooking arsenal.
MB: Where would you like yourselves and your business to be in 10 years, and how do you plan to get there?
CH: I don’t plan on ever retiring. I may take a vacation sometime, but I really enjoy what we do and growing our company.
NH: My goal is to have more of an international presence. There is a great need for Humphrey’s in Canada, Australia, Germany, England and other countries, where barbecue is on the cusp of exploding!
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