Glen Powell Recalls Hilarious Story From His Childhood That Once Made Him ‘So Grossed Out’ by Ketchup (Exclusive)

The ‘Anyone But You’ actor opened up about the funny memory while speaking to PEOPLE all about his new condiment line Smash Kitchen

Glen Powell’s love of sauces may run deep — but he didn’t always favor this one particular condiment. 

Ahead of the launch of his new brand, Smash Kitchen, the Top Gun: Maverick star, 36, spoke to PEOPLE all about his passion for food and the inspiration behind his new line. While he’s a die-hard ketchup lover now, Powell says he had a rocky relationship with the condiment after he was once drenched in it at a friend’s house.

“I grew up loving ketchup when I was in elementary school and middle school,” he tells PEOPLE. “I put ketchup on everything.”

He then explains how that all changed after he had a sleepover at his friend’s house one night. Continuing the funny tale, Powell shared how all the boys had to “sleep outside on the trampoline”  while his friend’s sister — who was also having a sleepover at the house with her friends at the time — slept inside.

Glen Powell Reveals How His Family and Home State of Texas Inspired His New Condiment Line (Exclusive)

He then remembers how the girls took the sleeping arrangement as an opportunity to play a prank on the boys.

“The girls came out and threw ketchup all over us while we were sleeping,” he recalls. “So I woke up and the ketchup had baked in the Texas sun. I was so grossed out I jumped into the pool, but I couldn’t have ketchup after that.” 

While the experience certainly left a lasting impression on him, Powell says developing Smash Kitchen is actually what helped him to overcome the disgusting memory. 

“The fun part about this process for me as a guy who used to be obsessed with ketchup — I’m now making my own ketchup. I’m obsessed with ketchup again,” he explains. “So it makes me very happy to have come full circle from ruining a joy of my life to now creating my own.”

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Smash Kitchen, which officially launched on Wednesday, April 2, boasts a variety of classic condiments like ketchup, mayo, and mustard, as well as some Powell-approved flavors like Hot Honey Ketchup and Hot Honey BBQ Sauce.

Powell told PEOPLE how the line was “absolutely” inspired by his home state of Texas and all the big dinners he would enjoy with his family. Growing up, he remembers how his grandmother “instilled this love of food in everybody” — to the point where he and his family would even create their own sauces.

“The Powells love to eat, but we also love making our own sauces. We were always messing around and experimenting in the kitchen,” he says, noting that his family especially loves to whip up their own hot sauce and barbecue sauce together. 

Of his family’s homemade recipes, he says, “We were always like, ‘We should bottle this.’ Everybody’s like, ‘This is the best thing we’ve ever had,’” adding that he always had this “desire to create.”

Smash Kitchen products are currently being sold exclusively at Walmart stores and Walmart.com at prices all under $5. Each condiment in the line is made with clean ingredients such as local ripe organic tomatoes and cage-free organic eggs. 

Powell adds how important it was to ensure that the line was made with quality ingredients while still being affordable for American families. 

“I’m just so happy about it because my family loves it, my friends love it, and I really think it’s going to change people’s lives,” he says. “I’m very excited that we can change the way people eat without having to sacrifice taste.”

To learn more about Smash Kitchen products, visit smashkitchen.com.