What started as a hobby during the pandemic for Daniel Lloyd developing all-natural barbecue sauces turned into a thriving business—Big Dog Sauce Company—which opened a brick-and-mortar store on West Main Street in Hillsborough earlier this year.
CEO Daniel Lloyd, his wife Phyllis, and co-owner and Chief Technical Officer Michael Diamond launched Big Dog Sauce Company in 2022, selling a couple flavors of barbecue sauces at farmers markets. Today, Big Dog has eight signature sauces and three dry rubs that it sells online and at 60 retail locations across the Northeast.?
Phyllis, a licensed massage therapist, has 15 years of experience in the food and retail industries. Daniel spent seven years as a corporate trainer with Papa John’s and later served as a regional manager for a Starbucks licensee group. He then transitioned into IT, moving to NH more than six years ago and working for Comcast Business.
Like many people, Daniel reassessed life during the pandemic and decided to launch Big Dog while still working full time. As the business took off, Daniel decided to quit his day job and focus on growing Big Dog. “For me, honestly, it was Phyllis having faith in me to take this to the next level,” Daniel says.
That risk has paid off. Big Dog Sauce Company has grown sales more than 230% since the first year. Sales in the first quarter of this year were equal to its entire first year in business. “We’ve doubled every year,” Daniel says.
With bottles of sauces overtaking their house, the couple decided a brick-and-mortar store made sense. They sell their own products and that of other local food makers. They plan to install a commercial kitchen in the back of the store by the second quarter of 2026 so they can make product there. “[The store has] opened possibilities for what we can do,”
Daniel says.
Big Dog recently launched a freeze dried product that Daniel says is ideal for camping. The freeze-dried sauces can be reconstituted by adding water.
Daniel says he wants to expand distribution along the East Coast and eventually make Big Dog a nationwide brand. One step in that direction is Big Dog sponsoring the Big Dog Triple Crown Championship, a three-state barbecue competition being held in Rhode Island, Vermont and NH in June and July and sanctioned by the Championship Barbecue Alliance in Texas. “I’m hoping it will build our brand recognition,” Daniel says.
