From the Basketball Court to the Kitchen: Minneapolis Coach Develops Spice Blend

From the Basketball Court to the Kitchen: Minneapolis Coach Develops Spice Blend
Brianna Edwards of LOV3 It S3asoning hopes her line of low-sodium spices will become a kitchen staple. (Anthony Souffle/Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS)
Tribune News Service
12/12/2022
Updated:
12/12/2022
By Nicole Hvidsten From Star Tribune

Minneapolis–Brianna Edwards has plenty of spice in her life without Lov3 It S3asonings: project manager, podcaster, athlete, entrepreneur, caregiver and varsity basketball coach at her alma mater, North Community High School in Minneapolis. So, why spices?

“It was a total accident,” Edwards says. Fueled by her mom’s love of seafood boils, and their inability to find low-salt seasonings to suit her tastes and health needs, Edwards headed to the kitchen to make her own. “It shouldn’t be that complicated for her to enjoy something that she likes.”

Edwards’ seafood boils and spices became popular with friends and family, who encouraged her to sell them. She took the leap a little more than two years ago, first at pop-ups and now at farmers markets and online. Now there are five varieties. The original mild and its spicy and sweet-and-tangy cousins were made with mom in mind; the most recent ones were for her: French toast, because she’s “obsessed,” and lemon-garlic, because it has the five ingredients she cooks with the most: lemon, garlic, onion, basil and oregano.

But Edwards, who says she prefers eating over cooking, isn’t one to stand still. Eyeing expansion, she’s mulling bringing in a manufacturer — so far she’s filled each bottle herself — to help reach her goal of having 33 good-for-you spices.

Brianna Edwards developed her LOV3 It S3asoning line of low-sodium spice blends after her mom struggled to find flavorful food while dealing with health issues. Now she has five different blends and she’s a mainstay at farmers markets. (Anthony Souffle/Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS)
Brianna Edwards developed her LOV3 It S3asoning line of low-sodium spice blends after her mom struggled to find flavorful food while dealing with health issues. Now she has five different blends and she’s a mainstay at farmers markets. (Anthony Souffle/Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS)

“If I can push this agenda on making food flavorful and making sure it doesn’t have the harsh chemicals in it, then hey, I’m down for it,” she says. “And if my business happens to become a staple in the United States, that'd be great, too.”

Edwards purposely uses her “spiritual guide” number 33, which has been a constant in her life, from basketball jersey number to her faith. The name itself was coined by her nephew, who got $20 for his efforts. “He asked me, ‘Well, since I love it, can we call it Love It?’,” she says. “And I’m like wait a minute, that’s kind of perfect.”

Follow Edwards’ company on Facebook; buy the spices at b-cindustries.com

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