trade-show Hot Sauce Expo
- Thread starter PapaCaps
- Start date
salsalady
Business Member
How far away from the event are you? Thinking about re-stocking....
Event coordinator High River Sauces? I wasn't familiar with the event name, googled it~ They have some (FB I think) posts from previous years. And some vids.... Might be able to get a feel for the crowd.
As to how much to bring? Depends on how good the sauce is, how hot are the sauces, what is your price, sampling.......
Hopefully you have some selling experience ...farmers markets, etc...so you have a feel for what the general public buys of your sauces. You would 'think' that everyone at the hot sauce expo would be buying all of the scorcher sauces. I have only been to a few events, but have found that purchases tend to be in the medium range or even mild. Only about 5% of customers go for the 'crazy-hot' flavors. 75% of buyers go for the mild/medium.
If you can drop the price from $7.99/6.99 per 5oz woozy bottle to around $5, you will make more sales. Again, depending on what you need for a price point.
Good Luck and Have Fun!!!
SL
Event coordinator High River Sauces? I wasn't familiar with the event name, googled it~ They have some (FB I think) posts from previous years. And some vids.... Might be able to get a feel for the crowd.
As to how much to bring? Depends on how good the sauce is, how hot are the sauces, what is your price, sampling.......
Hopefully you have some selling experience ...farmers markets, etc...so you have a feel for what the general public buys of your sauces. You would 'think' that everyone at the hot sauce expo would be buying all of the scorcher sauces. I have only been to a few events, but have found that purchases tend to be in the medium range or even mild. Only about 5% of customers go for the 'crazy-hot' flavors. 75% of buyers go for the mild/medium.
If you can drop the price from $7.99/6.99 per 5oz woozy bottle to around $5, you will make more sales. Again, depending on what you need for a price point.
Good Luck and Have Fun!!!
SL
@The Hot Pepper - It hasn't happened yet. I have been doing really well at the farmers markets. Better than I anticipated. Been working like crazy to build up stock for the event, I'm at a point where I am just pumping out what I can because in the event I don't sell out at the expo, I shouldn't have any issue selling any excess I make.
@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!
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!
HellfireFarm
Business Member
Can't believe I just saw this and missed the IL expo! I'm also going to be in North Carolina on the 10th, but wrong part of the state. 
Is there a big national or international list of these types of events somewhere?
Is there a big national or international list of these types of events somewhere?