How This Student Ag Entrepreneur Balances His Business and Academics

In junior high, Tyler Worthey discovered “Hot Ones,” a YouTube show where guests are challenged to eat spicy chicken wings. Although Worthey thought the show’s concept was hilarious, he found himself connecting to host Sean Evans, a fellow Illinois native. Evans’s ability to connect to his guests through his hot sauce inspired Worthey to create his own sauces to share, noting he doesn’t like “almost all condiments besides the ones I make.” 

At the same time, in a biology class, he was learning about capsaicin, a chemical compound found in chili peppers that influences heat level. Worthey’s family didn’t farm, but he “fell down the rabbit hole” and developed an obsession with hot peppers and spicy products, ranging from barbecue sauce to jellies and jams. “I grew up plain,” he says. “And I wanted to spice things up a bit.”

SF: How did Worthey Peppers get started?

TW: In eighth grade, I tried FFA for one quarter to see what agriculture was like. I really enjoyed [FFA] and jumped into it during my freshman year of high school. I started a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) to justify making hot sauce and bringing it to school to make people try it. Launching the business became two SAE projects — one in agricultural processing, and one in agricultural sales-entrepreneurship. I was the Illinois FFA state winner in both project areas two years in a row, and placed at the national level in 2023.

For a year and a half, I learned a lot about food production and tried basic recipes. Walmart only [sold] habanero peppers, and even then, they were few and far between. My classmate’s dad grew a bunch of super-hots in 2021 that included dragon’s breath, ghost peppers, apocalypse scorpion peppers, and a few others, which he    supplied to the project while I was still figuring out the basics. 

For two years, we have cultivated and grown over 25 varieties, including ghost peppers, Carolina reapers, jalapeños, serranos, habaneros, scotch bonnets, and more. The majority of the peppers we grow are used within sauces, but this year, we may start selling seeds as well.

SF: How do you balance the demands of being in college with running a business?

TW: I’m very thankful to have an amazing support system that includes my parents, sisters, and some of my high school teachers who keep in touch. My mom is a food safety manager, so she can produce products at home while I’m in school. The website has been the biggest thing because it allows me to run my online sales when I can’t go to farmer’s markets. It also runs our point-of-sale and inventory systems.

Through it all, I make sure to set aside time to decompress, and I prioritize personal and mental health. With my education, I’m taking courses that have grabbed my attention. I love my honors seminar philosophy class, psychology, nutrition, and kinesiology.

SF: What’s on the horizon for Worthey Peppers?

TW: Right now, we’re a cottage food operation, which means we can only sell products in the state of Illinois, even on the website. Eventually, I plan to expand to the commercial level, but as of right now, I am focusing on my personal studies first and foremost.