MAPLE GROVE, Minnesota — Scott and Linda Miedtke remember what cooking used to look like at their home.
"Spices were always a mess," Scott recalled. "I'd get frustrated every time it was my turn to cook because I'd be putting away more spices than I had taken out just because they fall off, tip over."
Linda felt the same, saying, "Anything would be better than what we had."
But when Scott started looking for a better way to store their spices, he couldn't find one.
"I decided, 'Well, maybe I can do something better,'" said Scott, a mechanical engineer by trade.
20-30 prototypes later, Vertical Spice was born.
In 2012, the Miedtkes started selling their spice racks. The design makes it easy to store a variety of sizes of spices and other items without wasting space. Scott took into consideration not only the height, but the depth of kitchen cabinets. The racks slide out, making it easy to access items at the back of a cabinet.
"I wanted to put the most spices in the smallest space... and this just worked out for us. I took drawer slides, put them the wrong way, put them flat, and the rest has been history for us," Scott said.
But Scott said what really sets them apart from the competition is their patented "flex-sides."
"One of our prototypes was taking rubber bands and putting them on the sides... was like a eureka moment for us," said Scott, adding that it makes it easy to grab spices and gives some flexibility with larger containers.
"We've heard stories of people who spend thousands of dollars on their brand new kitchen and all their friends care about are the brand new spice racks in their cabinets," Scott said.
Vertical Spice is located in Maple Grove. It's their third location after outgrowing other spaces.
Everything, from the cutting of the materials to the assembly of the racks, is done from their headquarters.
They currently have 13 employees, four of them full-time.
"We have five children and four of them have worked here with us. We've had some grandchildren come in and do little things for us. We've got nieces working for us, family friends working for us," Scott said.
Vertical Spice now offers all kinds of storage solutions, beyond spice. The company is nearing its 200 thousandth unit sold, with more than 110 different products available.
But no matter how much changes, Linda continues one tradition with each order.
Back when the shipping department was their living room, Linda recalled, "I said, 'I'm going to write thank yous on every order we get.'"
Wednesday morning, Linda was writing a thank you note to customer Wade.
She said, "Because we're nothing without customers. So I want them to know that we're grateful."
You can order Vertical Spice online or by calling or visiting them in Maple Grove.
They have a tool on their website that can help you find the right fit for your cabinets.
Know a local business we should feature for our Behind the Business segment? Email Heidi Wigdahl at hwigdahl@kare11.com.
Watch more Behind the Business:
Watch all of the latest stories from Behind the Business in our YouTube playlist: