Written by Tanya Terry, with photos courtesy of Cindy Hines
Toney and Cindy Hines, co-owners of PawsPaws Pickles, recently shared with the Courier about why they started a business selling pickles and how the local business became a national sensation.
“We didn’t decide; the pickle business picked us,” said Cindy Hines. “I was sick in 2020, and it was also during the pandemic when people were locked up in the house, when it was quarantine. He started experimenting with pickles as a pastime and also a stress reliever. His mind went back to his Grandma Martha’s recipe, who used to make pickles in Arkansas.”
Toney Hines shared he made many batches of pickles that he threw away.
Then, when Cindy returned to work as an insurance agent after the pandemic, she took many jars of pickles from home to a vendor event.
“I put some of his pickles on my insurance table,” she explained. “I sold no insurance, but the pickles were a hit. Then, we realized that we might be on to something.”
In 2022, the Hines made their hobby a business.
Cindy had previously been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), a cancer that affects the lymphatic system, which is part of the immune system. She has been in remission for nearly five years now.
Toney Hines shared that his Grandma Martha was from Dansville, Arkansas.
He said: “I was the kid that basically came around the kitchen. All the rest of the kids were going outside. I learned her cobbler recipes. I learned her biscuit recipes. I learned how she canned certain fruits or vegetables, like pears and plums. In the meantime I learned how she pickled what she called ice box pickles, which is a bread and butter variety. I learned that recipe, but I added a couple difference spices to it. I knew it was a hit when people said: ‘Wow, it’s just like my grandmother used to make.’”
Toney’s recipes included a regular dill recipe and an extra garlic dill.
He said the name “PawPaws Pickles” was inspired by his 8 grandkids, who he and his wife love dearly.
“My grandkids called me Paw. Then, they added another one to it, and I was PawPaw. So, that’s what they call me.”
“It has a nice ring to it,” said Cindy Hines.
She added that the couple has expanded the line, based on customer feedback.
She stated: “We started out with three really basic flavors: a dill, a bread and butter-which is grandmother’s recipe and maybe a sweet and zesty. Then we gradually built out the product line based on customer feedback. Customers would say: ‘Do you have a spicy? Do you have a spicy sweet?’ Then, the dill people would say: ‘Do you have a spicy dill?’”
Cindy Hines said people from the south who knew the relationship between pickles and cha cha started asking if they made cha cha. Therefore, they added cha cha to their offerings.
Cha cha (also called chow chow) is known as a relish typically made with green tomatoes, cabbage, onions and peppers. It was traditionally used in soul food cooking as a condiment to enhance the flavor of greens, meats like salt pork, dried peas or beans.
In terms of marketing, PawPaws Pickles were first available at events, including craft show, as well as markets.
They have recently expanded product to be available online.
“People started to find out about us,” said Cindy Hines. “Actually, a social media influencer did a taste test and went live. His name is Craving Capsaicin. He went live on his Facebook page. He has 100,000 followers. He tried some of our cha cha, and his reaction was so strong, it started flying off the shelves. We literally started shipping it all around the country: California, Florida, West Virginia, you name it, we ship it there.”
Cindy Hines explained that Craving Capsaicin’s Facebook page is dedicated to peppers, which he grows.
She added: “We use Thai peppers in our spicy cha cha.”
After visiting the Davison Farmer’s Market at trying it, Craving Capsaicin went to his truck, started eating out the jar and went live.
“He was like ‘Oh my God. I can’t explain how good this is’…That post went viral, and our online business just exploded.”
But that’s not all.
The Hines are starting to sell their pickle products retail. It is available at Flint Farmer’s Market at Michigan at the Market, at Davison Farmers Market at Living Water Ltd. and is branching out to various retail outlets.
Although the Hines’ product is all-natural, without artificial ingredients, the process the Hines used to make their pickles sellable is government mandated. They must be FDA certified, be certified from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and make their product in a commercial kitchen. Toney Hines also shared he had to take a class through North Carolina University on certified foods and pass it with 90% or higher.
“There are regulatory steps that have to be taken to make sure that the public is safe and the process is safe,” he said.
The Hines reside in Grand Blanc and are pastors of the Church of the Living God CWFF, located in St. Clair Shores, 13 miles northeast of downtown Detroit.
Cindy Hines shared she and her husband are proud to have modeled to their grandchildren, who sometimes work with them in the summer, that they can build something of their own and be proud of it.
She further stated: “We followed this path with the pickle business, which we get is an unorthodox kind of vocation for pastors. But, we really feel that God gave us this business. We didn’t wake up one morning and say: ‘Your grandma did make pickles. Let’s do this.’ This is not something we decided to do. This business picked us. But what it has done-it has allowed us to meet so many people in the community and to connect with so many people. We really don’t take a salary from our churches. So, it has allowed us to continue to sow seed into our church financially without being a drain on the church, kind of like the Apostle Paul did. He had a vocation that he did so he wasn’t a burden on the church. We like to see the joy, the smile that we put on people’s face, and some of our biggest supporters are actually our church members.”
To learn more about PawPaws Pcikles, visit https://pawpawspicklesnthings.com/
