Local businesses are feuding over the production and sale of a popular vegan dill dip, with community members taking sides on social media and each owner blaming the other for the fiasco.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
ktaniguchi@medicinehatnews.com@@kellentaniguchi
A local dill dip business is alleging its former manufacturer is using its ingredients to copy its recipe and selling the same product with a different label. However, Lucky’s Speed Sauce denies the allegation.
Shaun Bassett, owner of Lucky’s Speed Sauce, admits he is using the same mayo and pickles, but his recipe is different and includes a very different ingredient than Daniel’s Dill Dip’s version – jalapeno.
Daniel Kapeta, who owns Daniel’s Dill Dip with his wife Amy, says if Bassett’s recipe was different, it wouldn’t taste like his product.
“We have a huge following, so people definitely did reach out and tried the product,” said Kapeta. “… people in the community are telling us that, ‘literally it’s your product.'”
Bassett says that can’t be true because his dip hasn’t been sold to the public yet.
Lucky’s Speed Sauce announced Thursday it has partnered with Grit City Distillery to produce Lucky’s Grit Dip. Bassett says he was stuck with $13,000 worth of product that was going to go to waste, so the distillery offered to help him sell it so he could get some of his money back.
Bassett also claims Kapeta verbally threatened his aunt while they were still working together. He says he asked Kapeta to not let people in the building because of safety liability and food safety issues, however Bassett’s aunt let him know Kapeta had let someone in the building and Bassett alleges he threatened the woman.
The partnership between Lucky’s Speed Sauce and Daniel’s Dill Dip started in early December 2020. Daniel’s Dill Dip was making dip in a kitchen and Bassett says they asked him if they could make the dip at his new building, to which he agreed. He says he allowed them to mass produce the dip at a commission of 50 cents per container sold.
Kapeta says Bassett was a mentor to them and he trusted him, which is why he couldn’t believe the situation.
“I want the community to know because, let’s be honest, all our vendors do support us so it would be extremely underhanded if any vendor that knows about what’s going on to purchase their product and put it on the same shelf that we sell ours,” said Kapeta.
Kapeta was originally using small containers of mayo to make the dip, so Bassett says he reached out to a company in California which supplied him with five-gallon containers he then sold to Kapeta. The change resulted in higher revenue for the dip company, which allegedly hasn’t paid Bassett back for the mayo.
Kapeta says Bassett asked for his money back and he agreed, but Daniel’s Dill Dip decided to move out of the building as well. On Tuesday, Kapeta showed up at Lucky’s Speed Sauce with a police officer because he wanted to have a clean break and keep the peace. Kapeta says he brought a cheque for $18,000 and asked Bassett to sign a release form before he paid him. However, Bassett refused to sign the document.
“If it was a legal issue about money, take us to court or let us pay you your money and kick us out of your building. Don’t take our belongings, our ingredients and make our product, team up with another local business and name it something else and claim it, that’s what’s insane about this,” said Kapeta.
Bassett says he didn’t sign the document because that was a discussion for another time and for lawyers to be involved. When he refused to sign, Bassett says Kapeta left and said he would buy his own ingredients, which left Bassett with $13,000 worth of ingredients to deal with – leading to his partnership with Grit City Distillery.
Both parties believe the other had a plan in motion prior to the split – Kapeta believes Bassett had plans to duplicate his dip, while Bassett says for the dip shop to open a new location next week means they were planning a move behind his back.
Kapeta says it takes weeks to get pre-stickered containers, but Bassett says all the label designs for Lucky’s Speed Sauce are done on an in-store computer while Kapeta goes to a graphic designer.
“We literally do it in house, we have our computer and every label we have we designed ourselves, that’s what we do,” said Bassett.
He adds discussions with Grit City started Thursday and the label was designed the same day, nothing was planned before Daniel’s Dill Dip broke ties with Lucky’s Speed Sauce.
Kapeta says he just wants to move on and continue making dip. He adds they will have a location in Redcliff that should be up and running by the end of next week after Alberta Health Services gives them the green light. However, Bassett believes if the new location is open next week, Kapeta is the one who has been planning behind the scenes.
“If they’re up and running next week that means they’ve been planning this for weeks,” he said. “To get your health inspection, to get your sink installed, to source your equipment, this was definitely something that was planned, he was working behind my back while holding my money ransom.”
Lucky’s Speed Sauce made two Facebook posts explaining its side of the story but both posts were removed. Kapeta says that was suspicious and if he is in the wrong, the company should be bold and say what went down. Bassett says the posts were removed due to biased comments against his company and he didn’t want to engage any longer. Kapeta posted a video to Facebook explaining his side of the story.
“I’ve been nothing but supportive of the community, Grit City’s been nothing but supportive of the community, they did a hand sanitizer thing and gave it away to people,” said Bassett. “We’re not backstabbing and then there’s an unproven company that all of a sudden has more community clout than two companies that’s been in it for two or three years, not wavering with absolutely no drama.”
