Scarsdale, NY—September 14, 2022—Westchester, New York-based Mantis BBQ announces the launch of their line of “BBQ sauces to save lives”—combining passion with purpose and continuing the trend of food companies supporting social causes. Mantis BBQ’s mission: to support artificial kidney development by donating 10 percent of sales to The Kidney Project, a national research and development initiative led by Shuvo Roy, PhD, a professor of bioengineering at the University of California, San Francisco.
Mantis BBQ, a family-operated business with two decades of R&D, specializes in producing small-batch BBQ sauces that are well balanced, with just a bit of zing. Delicious with anything cooked on the grill, smoker and more, the sauces can be used as marinade, as a chili base, on pizza or pasta, and even as a dip with chips. The line includes:
- Mantis Original- well balanced and smooth, with just the right amount of zing to wake up your taste buds
- A Whisper of Chili - The recognizable Mantis BBQ flavor, amped up with the addition of Korean Chili paste and chili flakes for a warm sensation on the roof of the mouth and back of the tongue
- A Haunt of Ghost – With a special blend of peppers featuring “haunted ghost,” this sauce is our hottest, yet still retains our unmistakable flavor profile. Feel tough without overheating!
The company plans to present the entire line of Mantis BBQ sauces at the Winter Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas, January 15-17, 2023.
Notes Mantis BBQ co-founder Andy Mantis: “Like many other cottage industry food startups, we’ve been continually refining our BBQ sauces through the discerning palates of our family and friends for over 20 years. Not until we encountered a life-changing incident with our son did we plan to market it. Our crash course in the devastation of kidney disease inspired us to take an all-hands-on-deck approach to getting the product out there and simultaneously raising awareness of a cause that could impact the lives of millions of people.”
Over 100,000 Americans are waiting for a kidney transplant, but just over 20,000 transplants are performed each year. And they often don’t last forever. Andy Mantis and others have become aware that a permanent solution exists in the development of an artificial kidney, now only a few years from human trials.
The mission of Mantis BBQ is not only for the BBQ sauce to be part of the wonderful experience that only food can create, but also to raise awareness and funding for development of an artificial kidney, with 10 percent of sales going to The Kidney Project at the University of California, San Francisco, where development of this artificial life changer is underway.
Notes Shuvo Roy, PhD, bioengineer and technical director of The Kidney Project: “Our project aims to offer the hundreds of thousands of individuals facing kidney failure a freer lifestyle, one that offers better health, more mobility, and a less restrictive diet – including the ability to enjoy Mantis BBQ sauce. We have mostly outgrown conventional grant funding, so working with Andy and the team at Mantis BBQ provides a welcome boost in raising the $10 million we need to progress toward clinical trials of the artificial kidney.”
Concludes Andy Mantis: “Mantis BBQ is mission driven. As you savor the spicy sweetness of Mantis BBQ sauce, know that you’ll be sweetening the odds not only for our son, but also for so many others in need of a kidney.”
For more information, please visit: https://mantisbbq.com/
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About Mantis BBQ
For years, friends and family urged us to sell Mantis BBQ sauce, so we have decided to combine a great product with a great cause, joining passion with purpose. In 2016, our lives were turned upside down when our son and Mantis BBQ co-founder Spencer Mantis was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease. Years of failed treatments, months of dialysis and a kidney transplant later, the challenges were far from over. Following an education we never could have foreseen, we found out that for many, the kidney they waited and longed for does not last forever. An artificial kidney offers the hope of a permanent solution. For every bottle of Mantis BBQ sauce sold, 10% of the proceeds will go directly to The Kidney Project at the University of California, San Francisco, where development of this artificial life changer is underway and human clinical trials are within reach, but in need of funding. Learn more at https://mantisbbq.com/the-kidney-project.
About The Kidney Project
The Kidney Project is a national research and development collaboration led by bioengineer Shuvo Roy, PhD at the University of California, San Francisco, to develop the first-ever surgically implantable artificial kidney. The project aims to offer individuals facing kidney failure an alternative to dialysis — enabling patients to lead a more mobile lifestyle that includes travel, a more liberal diet, and relief from the stress and uncertainty of waiting for a transplant. Engineered to perform the critical functions of the natural kidney, the bioartificial kidney is powered by the body’s blood pressure, with no external connections or tethers. It is designed to provide continuous treatment, filtering the blood and balancing fluid and electrolyte levels 24 hours a day, and will not require immunosuppression medications.
Over the past 15 years, the project has progressed from establishing the scientific foundations and technical methods to showing that the device’s key mechanisms work in animal models. Project leaders estimate that once the necessary funding is secured, the technology is 3-4 years away from being tested in a human clinical trial. About $10 million is needed to advance the bioartificial kidney to this stage. The faster this funding can be raised, the faster The Kidney Project can progress. Your gift directly supports this life-saving research.