KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Pam and Rod Crawford first got married, they didn’t know they’d be spending their 34th wedding anniversary helping their son with his first business venture.
Max Crawford, who’s 22 and has Down syndrome, is the founder of Max Mix Gourmet Spice Blends, a budding seasoning brand business that’s sold in stores across the Midwest.
“We didn’t know 34 years ago that we were going to have a special guy with Down syndrome,” Rod Crawford said. “But ironically, that’s our anniversary. So 34 years today, three, two, one every March 21st … it’s our anniversary too.”
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In celebration of World Down Syndrome Day on Saturday, Hy-Vee partnered with Max Mix Gourmet Spice Blends to host Max, who couldn’t contain his excitement during his in-store demonstration at the Hy-Vee location in Lee’s Summit.
Max has a goal to live independently as a young adult.
A few years ago, he started making spice blends as gifts for loved ones, teachers and friends.
People liked them so much that they started asking for refills, and his dad joked that Max should start his own business.
Soon, that joke became a reality, and Max Mix Gourmet Spice Blends was born.
The spice blends, which are meant to be used to flavor meats and veggies, do not contain MSG, fillers or sugar, and they are gluten-free. The Crawford family boasted that you can read the label on the blends and understand what’s in their products.
“I want to have meaningful work. I want to be independent and have jobs for other people like me,” Max said when asked what inspired him to start his business.
150 stores across the Midwest
In 2024, the Crawfords reached out to Hy-Vee to ask the grocery store chain to sell Max Mix in Kansas City stores.
“It resonated with us (at Hy-Vee) with being involved in our community and really helping local vendors,” said Lee’s Summit store director Karla Quandt, who at the time was working at the Shawnee location. “So I immediately said yes, and we got it on our shelves in Shawnee, Kan.”
“Then we got it into all of the Hy-Vee’s here in Kansas City,” Quandt said. “And then, further on than that, he’s now in over 150 Hy-Vee’s across the Midwest.”
Quandt said Max calls or texts her every Tuesday to chat or just to say it’s Taco Tuesday. She emphasized how much she enjoys her weekly chats with the young entrepreneur. Max’s parents also gave kudos to Quandt for taking Max and his ideas seriously as a partner.
In less than two years, Max Mix Gourmet Spice Blends has raised more than $5,000 for local nonprofits and is on track to donate $26,000 by the end of this year, according to Max Mix.
Throughout March, Kansas City metro Hy-Vee stores and Max Mix Gourmet Spice Blends collaborated with store demonstrations to support individuals with unique abilities like Down syndrome.
For every bottle of Max Mix sold at participating Hy-Vee stores this month, both Max Mix and Hy-Vee will have donated $1 to Inclusion Connections BelongKC — a nonprofit that helps support individuals with disabilities through inclusivity, community involvement and access to employment.
“It makes me proud, happy, wonderful (to have my spices in store) because this is real,” Max said.
World Down Syndrome Day
Saturday, March 21, marked World Down Syndrome Day — created to celebrate individuals with Down syndrome and to ensure they are treated with the same opportunities and privileges as any other person.
Individuals with Down syndrome have 3 copies of chromosome 21, making the date — March 21 — unique.
On Saturday, the McVay family walked into the Lee’s Summit Hy-Vee and went straight to the Crawfords.
When the family pulled their baby stroller up to the display, Max instantly began showering the baby with love.
“Our little guy, he’s eight months old and he has Down syndrome,” Ryan McVay said. “We just wanted to be able to share the love with that extra chromosome today and celebrate.”
“It feels incredible (to support Max). I mean to hear what he has done and to start this business I think it shows that no matter your disability, you can do whatever you put your mind to.”
McVay tried the Chicken & Fish mix, saying it tasted delicious.
‘We love Max’
When the Crawfords briefly moved to Minnesota, Max wanted to play hockey. He started 6 a.m. skating lessons before school.
It’s just one example of how the young founder has created ways to reach his goals.
“I think we started right out of the gate wanting him to be independent,” Pam Crawford said. “He wants to have his own place. He wants to go and hang out in the community and be social, go to concerts, hang out with friends.”
In Max’s free time he enjoys sports, music and having a beer here and there, his parents said. Big Time Rush and Taylor Swift are some of his favorite artists, he said.
“He likes having a beer or having a margarita with his friends and we want to help him do it and find that path to independence,” Rod added.
As for the success of Max’s business?
“The community response has been absolutely amazing. Max, his energy, his smile. … You know, everybody really gets behind his spices,” Quandt said.
“We love Max.”
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