3 Condiment Brands That Are Owned By The Company Behind Ken's Steak House Dressing

When you're grocery shopping, it's easy to get overwhelmed by all the different products lining store shelves. Perhaps unexpectedly, some of those brands are actually owned by the same parent company, but they operate under different names and sell different products. Conglomerates like Conagra own a bunch of brands, including Hunt's, Slim Jim, and Reddi-Wip. And Ken's Steak House, which is best known for its salad dressings (and still separately operates as an independently owned steakhouse), actually owns a bunch of brands, too, including Sweet Baby Ray's, Sticky Fingers, and Kogi.

Interestingly, all three brands owned by Ken's are barbecue sauce brands, so in some ways, they're direct competitors with one another. But Ken's acquired the various brands at different times, which has likely allowed the parent company to focus on marketing each product differently. 

Ken's originally launched as a steakhouse back in 1941 under founders Ken and Florence Hanna, but in 1958, friends of the couple chose to market the dressings as a separate business. Today, the dressing is just one component of a much larger business operation — one that's drenched in barbecue sauce.

Sweet Baby Ray's might be the biggest household name of the Ken's brands, and it's one of our favorite store-bought barbecue sauces. The brand's sauces line the shelves of almost every standard supermarket, likely because they're well-regarded and affordable compared to other, more niche barbecue sauce brands. The barbecue sauce was originally launched back in 1985 by three friends (two of whom were brothers), and it existed for around 20 years before it was purchased by Ken's in 2005.

Today, Sweet Baby Ray's is America's bestselling barbecue sauce brand. A study from ReAnIn suggests close to 50% of U.S. consumers prefer this sauce over others. Ken's bought Sweet Baby Ray's for $30 million, and as of August 2026, more than 20 different flavor variations exist. One little-known fact about the sale: The Raymond family, who originally founded the sauce, actually retained the rights to "Sweet Baby Ray's" for their catering operations.

Sticky Fingers barbecue sauce was first introduced to the public through a Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, barbecue restaurant of the same name. The restaurant was launched in 1992, and it operated as many as 15 locations throughout the South. There isn't much information available regarding Ken's collaboration with Sticky Fingers, including a reliable amount paid or details of a deal. Based on a Facebook post, the restaurant partnered with Ken's to establish its line of differently flavored sauces, though it's unclear what percentage stake Ken's and Sticky Fingers each has.

Sticky Fingers' restaurants still operated as a separate company even after partnering with Ken's. Its website mentions that its sauces are available for purchase, suggesting the restaurant side still has some level of ownership over the sauces. As of August 2026, there are seven different varieties of Sticky Fingers sauce available: Carolina Gold, Carolina Sweet, Classic Original, Hickory & Brown Sugar, Kentucky-Style Bourbon, Memphis Style, and Honey.

Kogi is actually the brainchild of famed chef Roy Choi. Choi was born in South Korea but grew up in the Los Angeles area, where he eventually launched his food truck empire, Kogi BBQ. With a focus on Korean barbecue, it was only a matter of time before Choi developed at-home sauces with the same flair and flavor as his food truck dishes.

Rather than an outright purchase, Ken's and Choi actually partnered to work on the development of the sauce line. The exact monetary details between Choi and Ken's aren't known, and it's unclear if the partnership has an end date; the sauce line launched in 2021. As of August 2026, Choi and Ken's have launched six sauces in the Kogi line: Sweet Garlic Teriyaki, Orange Sauce, Korean BBQ, Serrano Chili, Korean Taco, and Sticky Spicy Sauce. In general, Ken's has done a good job of spreading the word about its products — all of the sauce brands that Ken's produces can be found in the condiment aisles of just about any standard grocery store.