@The Hot Pepper @salsalady Thank you very much for your advice. The event went off without a hitch and was extremely successful.
I have 4 main flavors. 1 mild, 2 medium, and 1 hot. I also knew this was a hot sauce expo so I wanted to do something really hot for the pepper heads. I did a limited edition batch of 55 bottles of a no-extract super hot sauce.
That flew off the shelf in a day and a half even though I charged more for it because of the cost of sourcing the specific peppers. I left the rest at 9 dollars each as it is what I charge successfully at farmers' markets and 9 dollars was on the low end of the other sauces at the event as is. We sold around 300 bottles total in 2 days. I don't think that's too shabby for only being in business for 3 months. Not to mention the only other vendors for the most part were other hot sauce vendors, some of the best names in the nation at that.
The crowd was totally opposite from the farmer's markets. The hottest sauces sold the most by a long shot, whereas the farmer's markets sell more on the mild side. That is why I made the super hot sauce limited. I didn't think I would be able to sell it much after the expo. However, I still have people messaging me to see if I have more. But I am a man of my word. I can't put a limited edition on a bottle and then pick it back up and produce it again. Especially after selling it for a premium. I will make something else that packs more punch than my Reaper sauce though just because it is now being asked for.
But the coolest part of the expo was how friendly the other business owners were. I made some great contacts. Everyone was having a good time and I only felt comradery over any competition. I had business owners that have already made a good name for themselves come over and want to take pictures with my team and me. I heard multiple times, "If there is anything you need or any advice on scaling up, don't hesitate to call." And they meant it. I mean they gave me their phone numbers. Such an amazing group of people!
I would suggest to any smaller company that may be a bit intimidated about doing an expo or fest, just go for it. It was crazy awesome!