A love of cooking and clean food led former salesman Don Stroud to his present career. When Don couldn’t find tasty seasonings without chemical additives in grocery stores, he decided to spice things up by making his own blends. In 2018, his kitchen experiments resulted in Stroud Seasonings, the business he created with his wife, Melissa, while pursuing his MBA at Clemson.
“The main reason I did this is I’m a control freak in the kitchen and I want to make things quickly,” the Greenville native explains. “I got tired of having to blend all the seasonings myself . . . and when I tried to save them, the spices would cake together and I couldn’t reuse them.” Through months of research, he figured out a natural way to keep his spices from caking, and before he knew it, he had his own seasoning line.
Of their four versatile blends, each boasting a four-year shelf life, the couple recommends using Fail Safe on everything from chicken and steak to vegetables and salads. The House BBQ Seasoning flavors any type of smoked or grilled meat, while the Chili Spice complements Southwestern dishes like guacamole and tacos. Don’s pride and joy, Shore Thing, was the last—and most complicated—blend he developed. A Charleston-style seafood seasoning with a Caribbean flair, Shore Thing perks up shrimp and grits, grilled fish, or a Lowcountry Boil.
The Strouds designed their seasonings to make life easier and healthier for the home cook. “We had chili the other night and our Chili Spice is the only seasoning I used,” Don notes. “That’s the great thing about our seasonings—everything you need is in one little bottle.”
Chili Spice: Salt, garlic, onion, sugar, and a proprietary list of spices go into this Southwestern seasoning, which is great on guacamole.
Shore Thing: Don hit just the right balance in his seafood seasoning with lemon, paprika, and celery punching up the flavors of any fish dish.
Fail Safe: When in doubt, fall back on Fail Safe, which was designed to spice up all sorts of savory fare.
Find Stroud Seasonings at Revival Butchery and Augusta 20 in Greenville, Farmacy in Easley, Square Roots in Laurens, and Kitchen Emporium in Anderson; or purchase them online at stroudseasonings.com.
