Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources / Oklahoma State University

Head Country wins contests
and customers

By Fred Causley

It was five full years before Danny Head began making money with his Head Country Bar-B-Q Sauce business. Perhaps that is partly why he has become an astute businessman, making calm, deliberate decisions before acting.

And that cautiousness is probably a good thing, because it helps offset the exuberance of his energetic wife, Carey. "I'm forever keeping him going," Carey Head says. "I'm younger than he is, with a more impatient personality. He's more mature and is a calming influence on the business."

It's obvious that Danny, an OSU agricultural economics graduate, considers himself lucky to have such a driving force as Carey on his team.

"Carey is real good at marketing and publicity (she graduated from OSU with a degree in radio, television and film). She handles our news releases, advertising, and video needs."

The pair met, as a matter of fact, during the filming of a Head Country commercial. They were married in 1983.

Luck and hard work have played an important part in the development of this family business, which has grown from small to midsize in the past 10 years. Danny was lucky because he was in the oilfield construction business and sold out in 1980--just in the nick of time before the oil bust of the 1980s. He was lucky again to have family members who had a great barbecue sauce recipe.

Danny Head demonstrates the Head Country Bar-B-Q mainstays,
a barbecue sauce, left, and their special seasoning.

"The recipe is 50 years old," Carey notes. "It was invented by Danny's aunt Frieda and his uncle Bud, who developed it right after World War II. They gave it away to friends in the first years, then began selling it in fruit jars through feed stores. Danny bought the rights to the recipe in 1977."

Danny went into the business full time in 1980, but it was 1985 before he began to turn a profit. That is why, according to Carey, Danny will "bend over backwards" to help a budding business.

"He remembers how he had little or no advice in those early years," she says. "That is why we are so proud to have a facility such as this new center to work with. There is so much potential for what we want to do in new product development and in marketing and packaging needs. We are looking forward to working with specialists in the center, rather than having to track down people we need to work with."

How good is this Oklahoma-produced barbecue product? Well, consider the fact that the Head Country Bar-B-Q team of Danny Head and Paul Schatte were the first to win both national and world championships in the same year, 1994.

"The fact that Head Country teams won both the American Royal Invitational Barbecue Championship and the Jack Daniels World Championship in the same year is a dream come true for any team. Our secret is our Head Country seasoning and barbeque sauce, well-seasoned pecan wood, and the best quality meats we can buy."

Agriculture at OSU Fall / Winter 1996
Agriculture at OSU Home Page

Agriculture at OSU is provided for online viewing by the Department of Agricultural Education, Communications, and 4-H Youth Development, Division of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University.

Head Country wins contests and customers

Head Country wins contests
and customers