HUMPHREY -- The quest for flavor he could use anywhere led Humphrey's Jerry Kyncl to the creation of Triple J's Seasoning.
Kyncl, who had 40 years of construction experience under his belt, was just making the mix for personal use at the time, not thinking of moving into the seasoning business. Family members thought he might be onto something and made a suggestion.
"All I was doing was putting flavors together until I got something I liked. My daughter and her boyfriend asked me probably about eight years ago if I wanted to market this and I told them no," Kyncl said.
His daughter Brandy Kudera and her partner John Klein, owner of Northeast Machining in Battle Creek, tried again a few years later to convince Kyncl to market the recipe.
"As we got started as far as grilling more, doing things at home we said 'you know what, Dad? You should sell this and market it to the public,' and for about six months he fought us on it until all of a sudden he said he wanted to see where it goes," Kudera said.
"I was sitting around eating supper and thought, 'It is pretty good, so let’s just give it a try,'" Kyncl said.
After some time tinkering with the recipe and working with their distributor, International Spices in Fremont, Klein, Kyncl and Kyncl's son Jeremy Kyncl joined forces to become Triple J's. Kudera manages their social media and web presence. The business, named for Jerry, Jeremy and John, put out their first batch in late 2021.
They only make one flavor, the original all-purpose mix, though they've experimented with others and talked about new products, Jerry Kyncl said.
"At this point it's just that particular recipe. We're talking about coming up with maybe some different ones but it takes time to develop that," Kyncl said.
The three namesakes all like to barbecue, so they have been experimenting with some form of barbecue rub. That process, Klein said, takes a lot of trial and alterations between a home kitchen and a manufacturer.
"We can come up with something, take it to International Spices, and they’ll get it to how they’re going to package it and ask us how it tastes, and it takes four or five times to get it hammered out," Klein said.
The mix is produced in Fremont and sold in Humphrey, Battle Creek, Lincoln, Norfolk, Columbus, North Bend and Wahoo. You can also order from their website.
Humphrey, Kyncl's hometown, is a big seller, Kudera said.
"We come from a smaller town where a lot of people know us, my mom's family, my dad's family, a lot of people know that's where we're from and are going to give it a try," Kudera said.
For just over a year in business, Kyncl said the endeavor has proven successful.
"It seems to be going well right now," Kyncl said. "So far, so good, as they say."
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