NASHVILLE, Tenn. — What started as a pregnancy health challenge quickly turned into a purpose-driven business for Tyler and Jeri Horne, founders of Baresöl Spice Co.
During Jeri’s third pregnancy, she was diagnosed with both gestational hypertension and gestational diabetes. Determined to manage her health, and protect their baby, the couple knew something had to change.
The shift posed as a challenge, considering Tyler had never cooked with this new type of mentality in mind.
“I’m generally cooking soul food, Deep South recipes, often not really as concerned with sugars and salts and all these different things,” Tyler said.
The couple did what anyone else would do in this situation, find a better diet. The family adopted a more Mediterranean-style approach, but still noticed unexplained spikes while tracking Jeri’s blood sugar and blood pressure. That’s when they took a closer look at the seasonings they were using.
“We started reading the nutritional labels,” Tyler said. “They were filled with so much sodium and ingredients that you can’t pronounce, as well as a lot of sugar in foods you would never expect. Even garlic salt would have sugar in it!”
Instead of giving up bold flavor, the Hornes decided to take matters into their own hands. “We started experimenting and just making our own blends with seasonings that we would normally use in our cooking,” Tyler said. “We decided to make these blends and remove all the sugars and heavy salts.”
The couple soon found that small changes like that actually worked. Shortly after this new discoverm Jeri successfully managed her pregnancy through diet, and the couple welcomed a healthy baby girl, who recently turned one.
The Horne family quickly saw how a small and overlooked problem can easily be reversed, and knew they had the ability to help do the same for other men and women.
Now based in Tennessee, the Hornes officially launched Baresöl Spice Co., selling directly through their website and shipping nationwide.
“Our first line available is called Söl Purpose Blend,” Tyler said. “It comes with four flavors. We have an original, spicy, lemon and seafood blend.”
The confidence to launch didn’t come out of nowhere. Tyler grew up in the restaurant industry and has seen firsthand how to be successful in the kitchen. “My father managed restaurants pretty much all my life,” Tyler said. “I also cooked since I was like six years old,” he laughed.
Alongside Tyler’s cooking skills, Jeri says her family has shown her from a young age that becoming a business owner is possible with the right support system.
“I grew up in a family where we were largely entrepreneurial…nothing’s impossible, right?” she expressed. “As long as you’ve got all the right things in place and you’re willing to put in the hard work and do it, it’s not unattainable.”
Baresöl Spice Co. started as a family venture and is continuing to do so. The couple’s three young children, ages one, three, and five, have become fans too.
“Our five-year-old is quite the picky eater,” Tyler said. “But something new that we’ve done is slicing cucumbers with a little olive oil and our lemon blend. The kids absolutely kill it.”
The Baresöl Spice blends have left not only a lasting impression on the Horne family, but also on countless people searching for flavorful ways to support their health without sacrificing the foods they love.
“The food is not only good, but better,” Tyler said. “Every time we have friends over or a party, we would use the blends and would get compliments all the time about how good it was.”
That mindset carries into how the Hornes are growing Baresöl Spice Co. and the true mission behind the bottle.
“A really big proponent of what we do is to hyper-focus on community and gather at the table in a way that is both healthy and filling,” Jeri said. “We are feeding the soul.”
Looking ahead, the Hornes are already developing new products and flavors, including options in a sweet category that still align with their health-conscious mission.
2 pounds chicken pieces (legs, thighs, or quarters)
½ onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Söl Purpose Original Blend seasoning
Olive oil
½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon flour
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Place chicken pieces in a baking dish.
Drizzle lightly with olive oil.
Season generously on all sides with Söl Purpose All-Purpose seasoning.
Evenly spread diced onion, bell pepper, and minced garlic over and around the chicken.
In a small bowl, whisk together chicken broth and flour until smooth.
Pour the broth mixture into the baking dish.
Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
Bake for 1 hour at 400°F, or until chicken is tender and cooked through.
Remove foil and bake an additional 10–15 minutes for light browning (optional).
Spoon pan juices and softened vegetables over chicken.
Serve over a bed of rice and enjoy.
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