The Big Al's story

This was supposedto be a trip toDenver.

It turned into a mustard company. This is how a ten-year-old, his mom's recipe and a folding table got there.

A young Alex sitting behind a blue table of mustard jars with a hand-lettered Alex's Hot Mustard sign and a tub of pretzels — Alex, at an early market stand.

Before there was Big Al's

It was Beth's mustard first.

The recipe belongs to Alex's mother. Beth is a nurse who was raising three kids, and for more than 20 years she made this mustard as gifts for family and friends.

When people asked if she'd sell it, the answer was always no. She had a job, three kids and no spare hours to build a business. So the recipe stayed where it started: in her kitchen, in jars, given away.

Plot twist: someone in the house was listening.

A jar of fresh mustard steaming — A fresh batch, still steaming.

A ten-year-old with other plans

A hot dog cart in Rochester wanted the recipe.

A family friend with a hot dog cart in Rochester, New York, asked Beth to sell him her mustard recipe. She said no, like always.

Alex overheard. He was ten, and he had a different idea: he'd sell the mustard instead. His mom held him to it. She taught him the recipe, and a week later his first order of Alex's Hot Mustard shipped to Rochester.

The original Alex's Hot Mustard label: a jar in front of flames — The original label.

Then the mail came

$120

That was the first check.

Alex in a folding chair beside a table of jars and a hand-lettered Alex's Hot Mustard sign at an early market stand — The sign says it all.

Saturday mornings in Iowa

The mustard went to market.

The next month, Alex took it to the farmers markets in Northeast Iowa. Saturdays, from about age 10 to 13. A folding table, a hand-lettered sign, jars and a tub of pretzels.

It wasn't a glamorous launch. It was the real work: showing up, talking to customers and learning how a business actually runs. The mustard even paid for Alex's first guitar, a jon boat and his first investments.

Alex under a market tent in an orange Denver Broncos shirt next to his hand-made sign — Under the tent, in orange.

The bigger ambition

So, Denver.

When Alex was five, his two older siblings traveled to Denver to ski with his godfather. He wanted in. His mom said maybe at ten, hoping he'd forget.

At nine he reminded her: "Next year is the year I'm going to Denver." Her answer: "Alex, how are you going to pay for it?" She handed him a list of chores, 25 cents each. He did the math and picked mustard.

It worked. The mustard paid for the trip: a Denver Broncos game where Peyton Manning broke the all-time passing yards record, his godfather along for the ride, and skiing across Colorado.

Alex in a Broncos jersey holding his boarding pass at the airport gate — On the way to Denver.

Alex and his godfather in orange at the Denver Broncos game — At the Broncos game.

From a kid's project to a real business

Same mustard. Bigger table.

Through high school the mustard took a back seat to sports, music and fitness. Then Alex got to the University of Tennessee, looking for something meaningful to build. He went back to mustard.

In April 2025 he formed DH Industries, LLC to turn the passion project into a company. His older brother Richard joined as CFO to help with finance and distribution. The label got a glow-up.

Alex's Hot Mustard
Hand-jarred batches
Big Al's today

Why Big Al's exists

We're in the experience business.

The sauce is the vehicle. The point is the moment: a jar passed across the table, a friend asking for just one more bite, the last scrape from the bottom because something that good shouldn't go to waste.

Ingredients you can pronounce, because the memories should be built on something real.

Shop the sauces What to put it on Follow @bigalshotmustard

Alex smiling behind a table of Big Al's Hot Mustard jars in front of the Big Al banner — Big Al Knoxville event 2026

The people behind the jar

Meet the founders.

Alex Del Vecchio, founder of Big Al's Hot Mustard

Founder & CEO

Alex "Big Al" Del Vecchio

Favorite thing to put BAHM on? Mac and cheese. Seriously. Try it before you judge it.

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Competitive by nature and always chasing the next challenge, Alex is the kind of person who believes growth starts where comfort ends. Growing up overweight and often picked last, he developed an underdog mentality that never left. At 16 he found the gym and lost 60 pounds in 8 months. That same mindset now fuels everything he does.

For Alex, BAHM isn't just a condiment. It's proof that betting on yourself and putting in the work can turn something small into something real. Whether he's developing new products, meeting customers at events, or building the brand online, the goal has always been the same: create something worth talking about.

When he's not working on BAHM, Alex is finishing up his degree at the University of Tennessee Knoxville studying business management with concentrations in entrepreneurship and marketing.

Richard Heveron, co-founder and CFO of Big Al's Hot Mustard

Co-founder & CFO

Richard "Dick" Heveron

Favorite thing to put BAHM on? Bacon, egg, and cheese. The man has taste.

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The loudest guy in the room, the first one to make you laugh, and somehow also the voice of reason. After years in the corporate 9-5 world, Richard always felt the itch to build something of his own. When Alex brought up BAHM, his answer was simple: "Why not?"

Having watched Alex grow from a kid selling mustard to building a real business, Richard believed in the vision from day one. He keeps BAHM grounded, bringing financial discipline and a steady perspective while turning big ideas into real plans.

Outside of BAHM he's a husband, father of two, a golfer who will absolutely 3-putt and have a great time doing it, and someone who takes his lawn more seriously than most people take their jobs.