Learn me selling/marketing hot sauces

I've started making hot sauces in small batches and folk are going nuts over them. Other than knowing how to make a hot sauce and sourcing the bottles I really know nothing. In a past life I was a school of hard knocks trained chef that managed kitchens so I know safe practices, but I do not know the laws on marketing a (questionably) perishable food item.

To date I've made 1. Habanera pear, 2. Sofrito three pepper (which folk are going nuts for), 3. I just finished an amazing Thai pineapple that I still need to bottle. I have just been handing them out to known HS lovers. I have been offered up to $15/per for them and I make them for about $5/per not including my time (and burning eyes/nose). Then there is shipping which would not be included.

Currently I am making them in batches of about a dozen so that would be $50ish really quick @ $8 to $10 each. I have a list of about 10 that I just tossed out on a note book and figure I can come up with a bunch more. I can also easily make the batch size bigger with nearly the same amount of time (I am an f-n ninja with my Shun knives).

Anyone do similar? 

Web site? Etsy-like site that lets you sell food stuff? Local NH/ME country stores is an easy one...

What does a small batch, higher end, local hot sauce go for in your area?

Thai one after the reduction, etc.

Sofrito on the left.

I need to figure out labels too but that should be easy.

What says the Hive?

A co-worker dropped his Sofrito one and it broke. I guess he was dunking his sandwich in the mess dirty floor, broken glass and all. Crazy. So I brought him in another.

Look hard into your state health code. 

I can't do that in PA without getting my house certified a commercial kitchen (pet free, separate EVERYTHING, random inspections) or renting commercial space to the tune of $150/hour.

Local farmer's markets when starting out. In addition to sales and exposure you'll have the opportunity to meet with other local artisan vendors, some of whom will also be potential clients to utilize the sauces in their recipes or as resale vendors if they have brick and mortar space. With regards to pricing don't be afraid to go into the 12 to $15 range as a retail price which will give you room underneath to have a wholesale price for other vendors. 

If you really want to blow up and have the means of production to keep up with volume, partner with a local brewery to have one of your hottest most badass sauces used as an adjunct in a stout. 

With regards to naming and branding, resist any rectal references such as "fire in the hole". Tie ins to regional aspects are cool though. Like Mad River Blend or White Mountain snow melt. 

RevRico said:

Look hard into your state health code. 

I can't do that in PA without getting my house certified a commercial kitchen (pet free, separate EVERYTHING, random inspections) or renting commercial space to the tune of $150/hour.

So my 8 cats and 2 huskys can't help any more?

I was kind of thinking a box truck or trailer. It sucks in the house.

In reply to preach (fs) :

That could be a novel idea. Show up at fairs with your rig, sell what you've already bottled, but customers can also watch the process & buy "fresh" bottles. 

In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :

Both you and Rico make good points. I was just joking with my wife..."Atkins' Hot Sauce, you want my sauce in your mouth." She immediately said NO!

Could be fun...

Piscataqua Peach. Winnipesaukee Wildfire, etc.

If it's too hard/expensive, I will just continue on with friends and family. I mostly do it for fun.

Guy I know socially sells some, for health code stuff he rents time in a commercial kitchen during off hours to do batches. $15 is probably a good target and second the farmers market idea.

I know I had answered similar in the past... 

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/i-have-a-sweet-idea-should-i-try-taking-it-to-the-next-level/81884/page1/

Speak to this organization and see if they know of similar in your state/area. 

https://www.agincubator.org/cift-nock

As for labels. There are a bunch of online sticker vendors who will do batches as low as 10, but it's far more cost effective to get runs of 250. 

If there is a local autocrosser or SCCA member that does HPDE or wheel to wheel racing who does vinyl numbers and or decals, reach out to them. As getting a full sheet printed then using a paper cutter would likely be cost effective. And provide the opportunity to sponsor a "hot shoe" award in the form of sauce. Also note, flaggers love hot sauce, in fact I think they love just about any sort of food. 

If you want to develop and devise a stitch type product that you could potentially retire off of. Start pickling some cucumbers, while they're pickling, develop a salsa verde base. Once they are done pickling develop a relish, then you are going to blend the salsa verde and the relish together fine-tuning the ratio until you've come up with Green Monster sauce, the perfect amount of heat and acidity for hot dogs, brats and sausage while enjoying a ball game. Scratch the name green monster, inferno farms already makes a sauce by that name, though there's no Fenway tie in. "Da Monsta" or a similar variant would play though. If you get Fenway Franks to come out with a larger quarter pound version called the Fenway Frankenstein and you come out with the salsa verde relish hybrid sauce named with a Fenway tie in, the cross promotion and buzz would be cash in the bank. Local radio and TV would gobble it up no pun intended. 

I watch that TV show (Marcus Lemonis) that shows food businesses that hit up packagers - let them make your recipe and package it.  

Then you focus on selling it.

I think you should send one of each to my house for market research.  I have a keen palate.

RevRico said:

Look hard into your state health code.

That's the big one. If you're not shipping this across state lines, the state rules will be the main thing to consider, and they're all over the place. Some states are a lot stricter than others. Here's one site where you can get started.

https://cottagefoodlaws.com/

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I think you should send one of each to my house for market research.  I have a keen palate.

I too have a keen palate, and you'll need multiple keen palates to conduct this market research. 

GRM's go-to sticker source is Decal Shop. 

mtn said:

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I think you should send one of each to my house for market research.  I have a keen palate.

I too have a keen palate, and you'll need multiple keen palates to conduct this market research. 

One per week.  I can pace myself.

Don't forget the name.

From what I've seen on store shelves, some name relating to how much it hurts or what it will do to your butthole seems to be the chosen path.

Made another batch last night/today. Habanera Peach.

In reply to preach (dudeist priest) :

I can almost smell it! Did you end up going the trailer route?  Any updates on plans?

In reply to jh36 :

Still just a hobby. I travel and work too much right now.

I have a real estate problem so I cannot really buy another vehicle. I need more land to park them on.

I do dream of a rowdy LS powered stubby food truck for the though. Think sweet wrap and on bags so I can drop it to the rockers at the market.

I miss good old fashioned news stands. I had a vision of converting a 1930's stake body farm truck into a newspaper/magazine/cigar mobile kiosk. Just so I could build it, really. 
I like your food truck vision. 

For low batch counts of labels, you can buy adhesive-backed paper at places like Office Depot and just print and cut them yourself.  It would probably work out to 10 cents a label or less after all is said and done, depending on size and how much printer ink they need.  I have done this to make short lived bumper stickers.

New problem: You have to design a label.

Newest bottles came with some labels. Wife added some silver sharpie. Not great but better.

You might want to contact Bill Goudy through his "Outdoor Adventures" YouTube videos. He loves hot sauce, and often taste-tests peoples' home made sauces in his videos. He's located off-grid somewhere in western Illinois along the Mississippi River. Here's a sample video:

Bill Goudy

A good friend of mine is a hot sauce Junkie. I personally can't stand the stuff. How do I buy some from you to send to him?