The cultural climate of the 1970's was one of change and redefinition. Women were starting to feel more comfortable seeking lives outside of the home and Dot Smith, founder of Pepper Patch, was no exception. Dot says, "I spent a lot of years as Mrs. Raphael Smith, III and I was starting to think it might be nice for someone to call me Dot Smith." Smith was a wonderful cook and people had been telling her for years that she should sell her much sought after Pepper Jelly. She says, "If you're a great singer then you become a musician and if you're a great painter then you become an artist. I was a great cook so that's what I decided to do," and from this Pepper Patch was born.
Smith didn't have a business degree when she started Pepper Patch. In fact she didn't even have a business plan. The early goals of the business were very simple. She wanted to make her family recipe for Pepper Jelly and sell it in the Green Hills Market, Nashville's only gourmet food store at that time. She also wanted to handle the business on her own, without the help of her husband and maybe squeeze in enough time for tennis games in between.
The next few years were spent keeping up with the demands of a growing business and her busy family. She would cook jellies in the daytime and then clean up and ship jars in the nighttime. She wore quite a few hats during these years from accountant to sales rep to shipping manager. These early years were a crash course in owning a business and Smith says of this time, "I learned a lot of expensive lessons behind that desk in those early years."
And learn she did. Pepper Patch grew quickly. She expanded the product line to include cakes, dessert sauces, and fruit butters. The products are now available through mail order and internet sales as well as being sold in specialty shops nationwide. However, one thing has never changed – product quality. Dot Smith has followed one basic principle from the start; all products are to be made from only the best, all-natural ingredients. Dedicated to that principle, Pepper Patch will continue to bring unique and delicious products to the market that represent the best of creative Southern cooking for the another 30 years.
