Nathanael Nunemaker didn’t grow up farming, despite what the name of his company might suggest.
While farming runs in his family, Nunemaker taught himself to grow peppers and other vegetables out of sheer curiosity. During the pandemic, he started growing peppers and other vegetables on a small patch of dirt in his Covington backyard. That curiosity has spawned Farmer Nate’s, a food company that sells hot sauce, spice mixes and branded merchandise.
“I’ve always wanted to grow my own food with some sort of self-sustainable aspect,” he told LINK nky. “I decided that was the time.”
The story of Farmer Nate’s is one of growth and abundance. He entered farming as a newcomer, eager to learn from any medium, whether that was through trial and error or watching YouTube videos. As he fell further down the rabbit hole, Nunemaker received an opportunity to work on a farm in Piner – a rural town in southern Kenton County.
The experience accelerated the learning process and gave him access to more land and resources. Nunemaker said the farm’s owner allowed him to grow anything he wanted. He chose peppers.
Nunemaker initially didn’t plan on making hot sauce until he became interested in preserving and jarring. After another trip to YouTube university, he realized that making his own custom hot sauces would be a fun way to preserve his peppers. That’s when he got the idea for Farmer Nate’s.
“It really opened my eyes to how many different flavors you could put into a small bottle of hot sauce,” he said. “The rest is history. Now my bourbon cabinet has turned into a hot sauce cabinet.”
Nunemaker markets his sauces as natural and flavorful, emphasizing homegrown sustainability. The brand offers four sauce flavors: Kentucky Tang, Curry Jalapeno, Smokehouse Habanero and a Louisiana style. Additionally, Farmer Nate’s sells ‘Covington Gold Dust’ taco seasoning, which Nunemaker said is one of the brand’s most popular items.
In addition to its online store and Amazon, Farmer Nate’s products are sold in over 30 retailers in seven states, including Kentucky, Ohio, Colorado, Arizona, California, Tennessee and Washington. The company also reached an agreement with HomeGoods, a national retailer, to sell its products in stores across the country.
Relationship-building is at the center of Farmer Nate’s success. Nunemaker and Jordan Huizenga, the company’s sales and customer relations director, want to convey this in the brand’s marketing.
“I think one of the core values of the brand is recognizing the conversations and relationships that can happen around food that tastes amazing and the impact that can have on someone’s life,” Huizenga said.
Both men want the brand to bring people together, providing them with the opportunity to connect over shared experiences through food. They believe their hot sauce can be at the center of this process.
This mentality can also be seen through the brand’s figurehead, Farmer Nate himself. Farmer Nate is a fictionalized version of Nathanael, who Nunemaker and Huizenga see playing the same role as a Colonel Sanders-type mascot for the brand. They want Farmer Nate to connect with potential customers by portraying him as hard-working and down-to-earth.
While they’re not exactly the same person, Nunemaker shares the character’s aforementioned qualities, along with the signature hat and beard.
“We do see Farmer Nate as a personable kind of story and brand,” Huizenga said. “We want to continue to grow that over the next five to 10 years.”
