Spice Witch Pitched at Mountain Raise on November 5.

Spice Witch was one of five local food and drink founders on stage at Mountain Raise on November 5 at Highland Brewing in Asheville. We did not win, and we are so glad we pitched.

Mountain Raise 2026 banner from Mountain BizWorks: Nov 5, 6:00 pm at Highland Brewing in Asheville, where Spice Witch is one of five food and beverage presenters

Spice Witch was one of five local food and drink founders who pitched at Mountain Raise on Thursday, November 5, 2026, at Highland Brewing Company (12 Old Charlotte Hwy, Asheville, NC). I'm Sabrina, the founder, and I got five minutes on that stage to say where we're headed and what we need to get there. We did not win this one, and I am so grateful I got to be in the room.

What is Mountain Raise?

Mountain Raise is Mountain BizWorks' annual "barn raising" for the western North Carolina local economy. Five local entrepreneurs each get five minutes to share their story, where their business is headed, and exactly what they need from the room, whether that's capital, customers, space, partners, or introductions. This year was the first time the whole lineup was food and beverage, which feels right for a town that runs on good snacks.

Who else pitched?

Five founders, five food and drink businesses:

Devil's Foot Beverage Company with Ben Colvin
Habibi Village with Maan Khzam
Little Guatemala with Christian Ramazzini
Matcha Nude with Samm Coffin
Spice Witch with me, Sabrina Hill

Zane Adams of Fed Up Foods, the parent company of Buchi Kombucha, gave the opening remarks and co-hosted the evening with Gwynne Rukenbrod Smith of Mountain BizWorks.

Why did Spice Witch pitch?

Spice Witch is a woman-owned, small-batch food company making Black Garlic Chili Crisp and Hot Honey in Asheville, North Carolina. Our chili crisps are made with avocado oil and no seed oils, and our hot honey is real honey, not syrup and not concentrate, with chili flakes, coriander, fennel, black pepper, and garlic left right in the bottle. Mountain BizWorks has been in my corner since I went through ScaleUp WNC, so being asked to stand up and say what we need next was a big deal for us. Five minutes is not a lot for someone who can talk about chili crisp for an hour, so I made them count. We recently joined the Optimist Ventures cohort in Asheville, and this was the next step in the same story.

What happened at the event?

After the pitches, founders met the room, networked with people who care about the future of western North Carolina, and tasted some of what makes the region's food and drink scene special. We had a table with our two best sellers, Black Garlic Chili Crisp and Hot Honey.