About Us

We are the Fired Up Founders: Michael Smith is from Springfield, Illinois and Krista Daniel is a St. Louis, Missouri native. We both currently reside in Carbondale, Illinois. And we’re both proud Salukis, Go Dawgs!

 We believe that making memories is the best part of life. We want our Jellies and Jams to bring people together, old friends and new friends. Once you try a jar we hope you can proudly say you're a part of our Fired Up Family.  The Fired Up Family begins with the Co-Founders Krista Daniel and Michael Smith and strengthened by many supportive family members, friends and anyone else who loves good food. We are all Fired Up and we want you to become apart of our Fired Up Family. 

We have created Jellies and Jams that everyone can get excited to incorporate into their family recipes, casual gatherings, and even just breakfast. Our Strawberry Habanero Jelly will surely rouse your creative mind to try new and interesting recipes like Broiled Salmon glazed with Strawberry Habanero Jelly. And if strawberry isn’t your game, Try our Cinnful Peach Habanero Jam, perfect for glazing holiday hams or simply use it to enliven a wonderful cheesecake. We have more jellies and jams on the way, but we all have to be patient while our small business grows.

Around 2015, we had an idea to create a Jelly that could lend itself to sweet and savory dishes. Strawberry Habanero Jelly was born out of Krista’s love of eating her grandmothers homemade jellies and jams and Michael’s ingenuity to create something different. We continued to make more exciting jellies and jams out of our home kitchen till we realized we just couldn’t make enough to supply our friends and family. In 2018 we decided to create a business out of our creations and found a way to more suitably produce for the demand we saw from our kitchen. And now, as of early 2021, we supply over 170 retail stores with our delectable Jellies and Jams in Illinois, Missouri, and Kentucky.

We are Fired Up about more than just Jellies and Jams though. We want to see businesses treat their staff with dignity and fairness. We want to see businesses help their communities and inspire future generations to do great things. And so “one must be the change one wants to see in the world”, that’s why we created Fired Up Jellies and Jams.  It’s not just about setting good examples and practices, we also put high value on Family and Friends and strong community bonds. We know that differences divide all of us and put us at odds with each other. But what brings us all together is good food. And we want to help provide that good food. The only time we want to see people at odds is because they’re at different ends of the table. And the only time we want to see people divided is when we’re asking how many slices of cheesecake to make.

We created our spicey recipes with two things in mind. One, many of us have ordered something spicy from a restaurant and know you get one of two things, either it’s not spicey at all or they’re trying to punish you for liking spicy food. The other thing is, some people have decided they don’t like spicy food at all because they tried something once and got burned. We have solved both these problems by creating recipes that perfectly balance sweet and spicy. When asked “how spicy our products are?”, we reply by assuring people that we are trying to sell jelly and jams not milk!

We hope to provide our customers with more unique sweet and savory combinations far beyond jellies and jams. We continuously test out new ideas for flavor combinations. Our goal for the future is to create a movement of people getting Fired Up about good food across the nation. Sharing their love and excitement with neighbors and colleagues, and bringing them into the Fired Up Family. We won’t limit our Fired Up energy to just Jellies and Jams though, and we ask you to do the same! 

What we ask of you is to enjoy good food and get Fired Up! Try our Strawberry Habanero Jelly on your morning bagel, but don’t stop there. It makes a great glaze on ribs, chicken, and shrimp. Or you could spread it on a pulled pork sandwich or deli club sandwich. 

Our Cinnful Peach Habanero Jam also makes a great glaze on ham or pork chops. Good food doesn’t stop at dinner though, try our jam on cheesecake or dollop some on ice cream. 

The best way to help us grow is to share our products with your friends, share our posts on social media and share your love for our products. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and twitter! And Remember good food always taste better when you share it. The possibilities are endless! Spread the love, spread the jelly!