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Bill Brackett, of Seneca, displays one of the many Mama D’s frozen pizzas now available at Ingles in Seneca and West Union. Brackett said the pizza, named after his mother Delilah, nicknamed “Mama D,” contains a secret sauce that she created. Photo by Greg Oliver/Staff

SENECA — When shopping at your local supermarket, it isn’t hard to find name brand frozen pizzas. However, when shopping at any of the 64 Ingles, including Seneca and West Union, you will find “Mama D’s” — created and marketed by Seneca resident Bill Brackett.

Brackett said the pizzas consist of a 19-ounce cheese, a 20-21-ounce pepperoni and a 26-ounce five-meat variety — all containing a special sauce created by his late mother Delilah, also known as “Mama D.”

The idea to create their own brand of frozen pizza, a popular meal in many households where families seek a fast-paced meal to match their fast-paced lives, came from Brackett’s desire to start a venture of his own. After joining Pizza Buffet as an operating partner in 2006, Brackett began thinking about the possibility of creating his own frozen pizza and enlisted the help of brother, Mike, who has worked with food establishments for 25 years.

“This is a way to expand my business and my horizons and that provided the impetus to try it,” Brackett said.

While hopeful that Mama D’s pizza will become profitable, just as any other entrepreneur would be, Brackett is quick to add that his goal involves more than simply making money.

“We’re not in it to make millions and millions of dollars,” Brackett said. “We’re in it to put out a good brand and give customers their money’s worth. We want to offer a high quality at a reasonable price.

“We do make a point that we’re local, we’re small and don’t have the overhead and shareholders to please. We’re having fun with what we’re doing.”

Brackett said he began the venture equipped with a good product that could compete pricewise. As with anything new, he added that the biggest obstacle is getting one’s brand established and that required numerous visits to local supermarkets.

“The more you can sit in front of people and sell it, then that carries weight,” he said.

“All we need is to get in the door. I know we’re going to sell it.”

Last month, Brackett received the official OK from Ingles and now plans to offer Mama D’s in Piggly-Wiggly stores located in the middle part of South Carolina and into Georgia. So far, Brackett is pleased with the response he has received from the general public.

“The more hands it gets into, people will compare the price against the name brands,” Brackett said, adding, “Hopefully, we’re not a one hit wonder.”

Before the pizzas were deemed ready for the grocery shelves, Brackett said he sent samples of the tomatoes and spices used to separate manufacturers to ensure quality. The five-meat Mama D’s is, to Brackett’s knowledge, the only one of its kind among the frozen pizzas.

But Mama D’s will ultimately involve more than frozen pizzas. Brackett said he is working on manufacturing casseroles for use as side dishes. In an effort to develop the casseroles, Brackett said he and Mike recently visited Mama D’s old church in Clover and asked four ladies to submit their best recipes.

From that visit, Brackett said the idea for squash, hash brown potato, ham breakfast and sausage breakfast casseroles was born.

“My sister and four ladies at the church received instructions on what was desired for the dishes, so they submitted a casserole recipe and 15-20 got together and cooked it,” Brackett said. “We offered each person a bite sample of each product, gave them a rating sheet and, from that, selected the recipe and tweaked it.”

Brackett said he is still perfecting the casserole products and, once that process is completed, plans to drive to various locales to pitch his newest offering.

“It’s fun dealing with retailers and seeing your stuff on the shelf,” he said. “It’s like it comes full circle.”

According to Brackett, the casseroles should be ready for sale at Piggly Wiggly by the end of this month and hopes to have them in Ingles stores sometime in June. Brackett also plans to eventually offer pork spare ribs, hickory smoked, and chicken and pork barbecue, with no sauce, at some point in the future.

“They would be frozen, yet pre-cooked,” Brackett said, saying he was uncertain as to when that might occur.