Winning American Royal barbecue rubs could go national

Winners of American Royal World Series of Barbecue events will have an opportunity to get their rub recipe manufactured, marketed and distributed by Overland Park-based Old World Spices and Seasonings Inc.

The company announced a partnership Wednesday with the American Royal Association, which organizes and hosts the popular barbecue competition. The event starts Oct. 2 and is expected to draw about 550 teams to the American Royal complex in the West Bottoms area.

Several winning teams in the beef, pork, ribs and chicken categories may have the chance to see their dry seasoning rub recipe sold at select grocery stores nationwide and through BBQSpot.com, a division of Old World Spices.

“The qualifying teams will be interviewed and selected based on their team stories, the number of years they have been competing and other unique characteristics that will create a great new rub,” the announcement said.

The new line of rubs in the Championship Rub Program will be available for retail sale in 2015, according to the announcement.

This story was originally published August 28, 2014 at 1:00 AM with the headline "Winning American Royal barbecue rubs could go national."