Who is Greg Frederick? He’s That Pickle Guy!

Greg Frederick is founder of That Pickle Guy, a family-owned business based in Lisle, IL, in the western suburbs of Chicago. His early career in the wine and spirits industry introduced him to the culinary world, where he developed an appreciation for gourmet foods with well-balanced flavors.

He founded That Pickle Guy in 2004 with a mission to bring handcrafted, all-natural products to local farmers markets, retail stores, and the tables of friends and family.

Q: Tell us about your background.

While living in New Orleans, I discovered the city’s iconic olive muffalata and found myself missing the Chicago-style giardiniera I grew up with. Inspired, I began crafting my own fresh vegetable blends using simple, high-quality ingredients.

When I moved back to the Chicago area, my craving turned into a calling.

I officially launched That Pickle Guy in 2004, and today, my blends have earned a loyal following across the country—beloved by everyday food lovers and culinary pros alike.

Q: How did you segue from the wine and spirits industry to become ‘That Pickle Guy’?

After being laid off, I moved back to Chicago with my family to reset and figure out the next step. I had a conversation with my dad where we reminisced about a trip we’d taken to West Palm Beach.

While visiting a local farmers market, we came across a vendor selling fresh pickles. Remembering the long line of people and the crisp crunch of the pickles, it sparked an idea.

I saw an opportunity to bring high-quality, all-natural vegetable blends like giardiniera and muffalata to Chicago’s farmers markets, along with fresh pickles. I wanted to create something bold, simple, and made with real ingredients—and that’s how That Pickle Guy was born.

I saw an opportunity to bring high-quality, all-natural vegetable blends like giardiniera and muffalata to Chicago’s farmers markets, along with fresh pickles.

Q: Why did you choose That Pickle Guy for your company name?

It wasn’t something I planned—it kind of chose me. While at a friend’s house, he jokingly asked me, “What does your wife think about you being That Pickle Guy now?”

It got a good laugh, but it also stuck. It felt natural, memorable, and captured the down-to-earth vibe of what I was building.

Q: Your offerings are available in grocery chains, specialty stores, farmers markets, and direct-to-consumers, do you sell to restaurants and other foodservice venues?

Yes, we do. You can find our products in select Chicagoland area restaurants such as Freedom Brothers, Obscurity Brewing, and Buck Russell’s, to name a few.

We love working with local Chicago spots and are always open to new partnerships. We also ship product to restaurants and delis outside of the Midwest.

At one point, our products were featured in luxury suites for the Kansas City Royals and Cincinnati Reds!

Q: Are your sales fairly balanced between direct-to-consumer and retail, or is one segment more dominant? Are you planning to expand one way or the other?

Retail is currently the larger part of our business. We’re in over 100 stores—not including Costco, where we’ve had regional placements in their Midwest, Southeast, and Texas stores since 2007.

Most recently, we’ve expanded into Mariano’s stores throughout Illinois, adding to our growing retail presence.

That said, we’re actively growing our direct-to-consumer side too. We ship orders daily across the country, we’re available on Amazon, and we’re putting more energy into expanding our online presence.

We’re also big believers in community—this year we’re in 14 area farmers markets, including Evanston (north of Chicago) for the first time.

Whole Foods was definitely our big break. Back in 2006, a customer from one of our farmers markets recommended us to their local store.

Q: How did Whole Foods find out about your products? Was this your big break, or were you already receiving regional attention?

Whole Foods was definitely our big break. Back in 2006, a customer from one of our farmers markets recommended us to their local store. I was invited to pitch our products and was approved for all Illinois locations.

From there, I had to visit each store and personally present to the grocery managers. The response was strong, and soon we caught the attention of regional leadership.

We were later featured as one of their top 10 best local products, and we’ve been in Whole Foods’ Midwest stores ever since.

Q: With Whole Foods stores in multiple states carrying your products, how did you scale up the business?

Luckily, our production partner was growing at the same time we were.

Back then, they were based in Chicago’s Fulton Market and later built a state-of-the-art facility that has allowed us to expand our capacity and scale up to meet demand.

Q: Are there plans to offer That Pickle Guy products in Whole Foods stores beyond the Midwest?

Yes, we’ve participated in national Whole Foods sales meetings and have seen our products pop up in stores outside the Midwest.

Expanding nationally comes with distribution challenges, and we want to grow the right way—without compromising quality or driving up prices for our customers.

It’s something we’re continuing to explore.

Expanding nationally comes with distribution challenges, and we want to grow the right way—without compromising quality or driving up prices for our customers.

Q: Where do you source vegetables from? How does this change when locally produced (within the Midwest) items are available?

We work closely with small, family-owned farms that we’ve built long-term relationships with. During the Midwest growing season, we source as much as we can locally.

In the colder months, we shift to trusted partners in Southern states. We don’t buy from the open market—only from contracted growers we know and trust.

Q: Do you have plans to expand your product line? What’s the process for creating or selecting a new offering?

We’re always exploring new ideas. Right now, we’re working on a new pickle flavor, Garlic Dill Chip, building on the popularity of our current Dill Chips.

We’re also testing honey-infused versions of our giardiniera and muffalata blends. Our process starts with market research and customer feedback.

From there, we develop prototypes, do blind taste tests with our team and a small group of loyal customers, and fine-tune the recipe with our quality control team before launching.