Big Wick's Legal Help

Big Wick's Mesquite-Smoked Jalapeno Glaze is currently in the middle of a lawsuit and need help paying for an attorney. They are being represented well by a trademark attorney but that does not come cheap. When things are all said and done, they will owe upwards of $40,000 in legal fees. They are confident in their case and hopeful to emerge successful from this dark cloud over their business. Any donation would be helpful. Below is their story.

Wes Wicker was born in 1987 to a single, hard-working mother that barely made ends meet. He never had the chance to have a relationship with his father as the man took his own life when Wes was just barely 2 years old. With no second income, his mother worked as a licensed vocational nurse trying to keep food on the table and clothes on his back. His unfortunate early childhood circumstances led Wes to feel the need to financially contribute to his household as young as eight years old. This was the age that he began to collect parts to rebuild an old, neglected lawn mower he found while dumpster diving. Once he got it running, he started mowing lawns for a few dollars each- every bit of which went straight to his mom. The work ethic that was burned into him so young carries on throughout his life to this day.

In the late 1990’s, Wes became very involved with the Boy Scouts, making it to the rank of Life Scout. Later, in 2010, Wes’s mom was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lung cancer. Not long after, Wes suffered from a 3 herniated discs and severely pinched sciatic nerve. But true to his character and as a byproduct of his upbringing, he never gave up hope.

Unfortunately, his mother ultimately lost her battle with cancer in February of 2011. Only nine days later, Wes had surgery on his spine to try and repair the nerve. This surgery left him with chronic pain, numbness, and a lifelong condition known as “foot drop.” He pushed through all of that while also maintaining good academic standing in the 17 hours he was enrolled in at Texas Tech University while holding down multiple jobs. He always had several jobs and side hustles to make ends meet. Later that year he happened upon a side hustle that developed into a passion that he never knew he had. While at a gathering where the appetizer was jalapeno jelly over cream cheese with crackers, Wes found himself pondering on the snack’s delicious potential. He came up with the novel idea that the jalapenos should be smoked before cooking and canning as a jelly. He gave away a few jars and those lucky few let him know that it was absolutely addicting, and they would even pay him to make more. On March 2, 2012, he created a business page on Facebook for Wicker’s TX Mesquite Smoked Jalapeno Jelly. He sold around 600 jars within a year. The money he made helped support him during the unpaid internship portion of his Agricultural Education degree.

Graduation came and went, and Wes launched his career as an Agricultural Mechanics teacher. It was during this time that Wes made what (he felt like) was the responsible decision to set his passion for smoked jalapeno jelly aside. For years to follow, Wes had people begging him to make his delectable jelly again. However, with other situations demanding his attention, jelly was put on the back burner.

On September 22, 2018 Wes had his first date with his now wife, Sarah. On that date, over an appetizer of jalapeno jelly on cream cheese with crackers, Wes shared with Sarah how he used to make and sell a version of the jelly six years prior. She found it cute and endearing, but didn’t realize the magnificent impact that it would soon have on their lives.

After 10 months of dating, Sarah had met most of Wes’s important circle of family and friends. She quickly noticed that almost every time she was introduced to someone new, they would at some point in the conversation ask Wes when he was going to make his “famous smoked jalapeno jelly” again. After hearing request after request, Sarah decided that she had to try this jelly. She asked him what he would need to make it, purchased the ingredients, and…she loved it. The pair shared the resurrected jelly on social media, and the demand immediately started pouring in again. With Sarah’s support and enthusiasm, Wes was swayed to fire up the smoker and get to work.

In August 2019, they restored the business Facebook page and began taking orders. The orders trickled in from friends and family, then from friends of friends/family, until eventually they were being contacted by complete strangers wanting their hands on his jelly. The following two years were filled with an unbelievable amount of support from customers all over the US and five international countries.

Wes and Sarah married July 2020- without celebration due to COVID-19. Their union was almost instantly attacked with trials and difficulties. Wes was hospitalized fifteen times that year with chronic necrotizing pancreatitis, which still plagues him to this day. His absences due to his hospitalizations caused him to lose his job under the already heavy blanket of a global pandemic. Sarah contributed where she could but was already working full-time hours. Despite their stressful circumstances, they refused to be defeated.

After 17,000 jars of jelly had been sold, the Wickers decided it was time to seek out a co-packer for mass production. To their dismay, their unique concept was rejected by every jelly co-packer they reached out to. They realized it was time to pivot. Several of their customers had shared that they had melted the Wicker’s jelly down to use as a glaze. What was inspired next was a more versatile, pourable version with the same great flavor and a thicker texture. And it was an instant HIT.

March 2, 2022, Texas Independence Day and 10 years after the original launch of the jelly, they ran their first batch of Mesquite Smoked Jalapeno Glaze. The next goal was getting it into a grocery store. Wes wanted to start small and local. They first reached out to United Supermarkets out of West Texas, and after a long, grueling process…the Wickers finally saw the product that they had worked so hard on for sale on a shelf. Their glaze was made available in a very limited number of stores in west Texas and Dallas/Fort Worth, but the personal fulfillment they harnessed from the accomplishment was incomparable.

Sales were good, Wes and Sarah’s relationship was thriving, and all seemed to be going as planned. Their brand was experiencing slow yet steady, sustainable growth, but after a couple of months of success came a gut punch they couldn’t have expected. The couple received a “Cease and Desist” warning from Missouri-based Wicker’s Food Products, Inc.- a company that makes and distributes barbeque sauces and marinades, and a company the Wickers considered friends. Wes and Sarah had brainstormed, collaborated, and exchanged products with this company multiple times. On one specific occasion, Wes and Sarah and Wicker’s Food Products had made a respectable handshake agreement that despite Wicker’s Food Products holding the trademark for the word “Wicker’s”, the Missouri company was comfortable with the couple’s addition of “TX” to the glaze’s name for ample distinction and to avoid legal action. Needless to say, the Wickers were shocked and hurt upon the receipt of legal orders to discontinue what they had sacrificed everything for. Deep, dark depression is what followed. The depression and anxiety of what was to come pushed Wes to a point that Sarah felt he needed immediate professional help and she took him to a psychiatric facility.

The unknowns were (and still are) suffocating. What did this mean for the brand recognition and customer base they had built from the ground up? The Wickers had made a name for themselves that had become known all over the state of Texas, especially in the barbecue scene. The accusations that they were benefitting from the name and goodwill of a company that few had even heard of was almost unbearable. After an anxiety-riddled back-and-forth legal battle, the mentally depleted couple decided to bite the bullet and change the name completely to “Big Wick’s”. This was a nickname given to him during his time in the Boy Scouts as he is 6’7”. They loved it and filed for the trademark. It is the perfect name for their product as it contains a stylized mark including the Texas flag, the shape of Texas, a jalapeno, and a star over the birthplace of the product, Lubbock, Texas.

Wes has been dealt a poor hand and experienced tremendous loss that many are fortunate enough to never have to know in their lifetime. Not once has this caused him to pity himself or wallow in the unfairness of it. He picks himself up after every painful curveball and continues to pursue his mission, which is simply to find purpose in making people happy and to eventually be able to give back to the communities that cared for him in his times of need. He has found that purpose in sharing this mesquite smoked jalapeno glaze, and remains hopeful that it will one day become a household name. Until then, Wes and Sarah plan to stay true to the grind and trust what God has in store for their future.