Aug 27, 2018 By Trista Thurston staff Writer tthurston@thealmanac.Net 5 min read

Brian Schmucker never saw himself in the pickle business, let alone the gourmet pickle business.

The Bethel Park native stumbled upon SuckerPunch Gourmet a few years ago, when it was just a small operation selling about $50,000 worth of products a year. Now Schmucker is the largest shareholder and chairman of the board, and the company is forecasting $4 million in sales this year.

The 1990 Bethel Park graduate said watching the company’s growth and recent success at Picklesburgh in Pittsburgh in July has been flat out fun.

The bold and scrappy company features pickles, salsas and Bloody Mary mixes made with all-natural, gluten-free ingredients.

His day job is CEO of a Chicago-based investment management firm, RiverNorth, that handles institutional investments.

“I was attracted to the brand and the quality of the products,” Schmucker said. “It’s really a clean food, and that’s not why I got attracted to it, but it’s a bonus.”

Schmucker was first attracted to SuckerPunch Gourmet, based just outside of Chicago in Bridgeview, while staying at the Trump Hotel in Chicago in 2014. He looked in the minifridge and saw a bottle of Bloody Mary mix by this brand he had never heard of before. Schmucker recalls the logo and the label and said he was attracted to the brand, when he normally doesn’t notice those sorts of things.

Two weeks later, he decided to order some of the Bloody Mary mix on the company’s website. Schmucker mistakenly assumed it was a large, national company because of their Trump Hotel placement. But after ordering two cases of the mix, Schmucker received an email from the co-owner, David van Alphen, that since he had ordered such a large amount, van Alphen would need to personally drop it off.

That piqued Schmucker’s attention.

“I was just curious. I had no interest in getting involved,” he said.

Schmucker learned that van Alphen was an artist with a background in food, making pickles and Bloody Mary mix in his basement, the only two products offered by the business. He got involved as an investor near the end of 2014.

“I got more and more involved,” Schmucker said. “Today, I’m the largest shareholder.”

Schmucker was able to convince a retired friend, Todd Francisco, to get involved.

“This could be a lot of fun, and I do believe it could be a winner,” Schmucker recalls telling Francisco.

Now Francisco is the president of the company. What started as a couple of guys selling pickles out of a van has grown to a team of about 15. They’ve brought in more capital. Their products have grown to feature different mixture flavors, more pickles, spears and salsas. They’re available internationally and in every U.S. state.

“We’re off to the races,” Schmucker said excitedly. “I’m just a serial entrepreneur and I love the brand.”

But his involvement is less about the money, and more about being involved in the action. He used to own and operate a chain of bagel shops, so he’s familiar with the food industry.

“It’s fun to grow a business,” Schmucker said. “The journey’s the most important thing.”

And then there’s Pickleburgh, the summer weekend festival on the Roberto Clemente Bridge that celebrates all things brined, fermented and pickled. One of the main reasons for attending was to help build local demand for their products as a young company “starving for exposure.” Schmucker said there were people in line throughout the entire festival, promoting a return trip in 2019 with a space double in size.

“It’s really growing quite a bit,” Schmucker said. “I’ve lost track of it.”

It doesn’t hurt that event sponsors included Heinz and Giant Eagle.

“We want to compete with Heinz, even though we’re a specialty brand,” Schmucker said.

The vision is to compete with major household pickle names, but who knows what the future could hold. A company like Heinz could one day partner with, take an economic interest in or even buy SuckerPunch. For now, they’re satisfied with the competition.

The goal is to be in the top five brands in the pickle category, and to take the top spot in the premium pickle, Schmucker said.

And though he may be biased, Schmucker won’t hesitate to mention how much he loves these pickles. Schmucker’s mother loves the Bloody Mary mix so much she’ll drink it alone like tomato juice.

He said he hopes SuckerPunch can disrupt the pickle market and change how people think about pickles. Other than as an addition to a sandwich, burger or served on the side, people don’t really give pickles a second thought, Schmucker said. They’re relatively healthy but boring. But more and more, people, especially millennials, are looking for clean food full of flavor. Schmucker thinks SuckerPunch can transform pickles from a commodity to something that can stand alone.

SuckerPunch products are available locally at TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Home Goods. Giant Eagle also carries the Bloody Mary mix, and the company hopes they’ll soon stock the full line of offerings. To order online, go to suckerpunchgourmet.com.