bottles-jars Smaller hot sauce bottles.

HoodedCrowHotSauce

HoodedCrowHotSauce

We found the perfect sample bottles in AC Moore yesterday. The mouth is nice and wide (a couple of our sauces are on the thicker side) and it is about 1.5 oz. We haven't actually measured how much it could hold yet, but it looks a little less than half the size of the standard 5 oz bottles.
 
I know that the smaller hot sauce bottles must exist (not counting Tabasco... the opening is waaay to tight), why are they so hard to find? And with a wider mouth? Apparently the company that makes these went out of business, so that is a bust. Any ideas where we can find something similar? We are not having any luck at all. Any help would be appreciated.
 
-HC
 
P.S. We did find these http://www.specialtybottle.com/glass-bottles/sauce/1-7oz-woozy-wz1 but they seem to have a smaller mouth... 
 

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Looks like the one you found is plastic, which usually doesn't work for Hot Fill/Hot processing that most sauce makers utilize.  Plastic bottles are extremely temperature sensitive.  Most distort/melt with sauces over 180F.  Not saying all will melt, but most seem to.
 
you can always use a 2 oz bottle like THESE.    Not a sauce bottle shape, but ticks all the other boxes for thick sauces, HFH, etc~
 
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salsalady said:
Looks like the one you found is plastic, which usually doesn't work for Hot Fill/Hot processing that most sauce makers utilize.  Plastic bottles are extremely temperature sensitive.  Most distort/melt with sauces over 180F.  Not saying all will melt, but most seem to.
 
you can always use a 2 oz bottle like THESE.    Not a sauce bottle shape, but ticks all the other boxes for thick sauces, HFH, etc~
Click to expand...
 
Yeah it is plastic, but we usually do not fill the bottles hot off the stove. We usually blend it down first and let it settle overnight before we bottle so there is less of a chance of air bubbles getting trapped in there. 
 
We did see the glass jars, but we were hoping for the smaller bottles. But we are not against using the jars, we were just hoping someone could help us find something similar to what we posted. But you gotta do what you gotta do I guess. Thanks Salsalady!
 
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salsalady said:
Looks like the one you found is plastic, which usually doesn't work for Hot Fill/Hot processing that most sauce makers utilize.  Plastic bottles are extremely temperature sensitive.  Most distort/melt with sauces over 180F.  Not saying all will melt, but most seem to.
 
you can always use a 2 oz bottle like THESE.    Not a sauce bottle shape, but ticks all the other boxes for thick sauces, HFH, etc~
Click to expand...
thank god. i am going to utilize these. I may even convert my entire sauce line to these sizes
 
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Have always wondered why more sauce makers don't want to go the route of the disposable condiment things like Taco Bell uses.  I am sure the machine would have an initial investment, but it would make giving out free samples so very cost effective in the long run.
 
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ajdrew said:
Have always wondered why more sauce makers don't want to go the route of the disposable condiment things like Taco Bell uses.  I am sure the machine would have an initial investment, but it would make giving out free samples so very cost effective in the long run.
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Palo Alto Firefighters does this - it's fitting because their sauce is like a gourmet version of Taco Bell sauce. It's a really smart move, I wish more sauce makers did it.
 
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heathotsauce said:
 
Palo Alto Firefighters does this - it's fitting because their sauce is like a gourmet version of Taco Bell sauce. It's a really smart move, I wish more sauce makers did it.
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There's a specialized piece of repackaging equipment that is used in the process (to speak to AJ's point) that's very costly, so to most sauce companies not named tapatio or tabasco, the investment in the equipment would be prohibitive. 
 
That said, the facility does offer the service of pouching, provided you can send them gallon or 1/2 gallon containers. I will soon have that capability but not every saucemaker does. You also need to work with a 3rd party to make the webbing (the pouches prior to being filled). That comes with minimum order sizes and the cost becomes more substantial when the webbing is adorned with branding, nutrition, ingredients, etc.  
 
As for it being a smart move, I don't argue the value of sampling. However it's worth considering how many varieties a company makes, application and what their marketing budget allows for.  If I'm using these to send samples to 100 stores, it might be cheaper for me to send each store a full bottle of sauce rather than make 10,000 packets, plus set-up costs, minimums, materials, labor and product.  
 
Either way, it's an expensive experiment to find out, so I'll be continuing to weigh the pros and cons of this.

Ps - I consider PAFF as a gourmet version of Tapatio, not Taco Bell sauce. Not sure TB sauce is a flattering comparison for their excellent product. 
;)
 
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Oh yea, I totally get that there are high upfront costs to produce sample packets, and the fact that most companies don't have the capability to offer them.
 
I definitely don't think the packets are well suited for sending samples to stores, whether they're cost effective or not. Packets don't give prospective buyers an idea of what the actual packaging and labels look like. Full sized samples are the way to go for that sort of thing (or at the very least, 1.7 oz bottles).
 
The perfect use for sample packets is ecommerce, where you don't have the ability to do Farmers Market style tastings. You know as well as I do the value of sampling, and there is added value in giving customers free things (I know I love it when I get something free in an order, however small). But is that worth a big chunk of a marketing budget? Maybe not, especially if online sales aren't a primary focus, because that's the only realm where I think the packets have utility.
 
But I still wish more sauce makers made the packets, because it makes my job easier. I know I sell a hell of a lot more Palo Alto Firefighters than I would if I didn't include their packets in most orders. But it's probably true that it doesn't make sense for most sauce makers to do, so I'm not holding my breath.
 
 
As far as the Taco Bell comparison, "gourmet version of" is the key phrase there. PAFF is definitely in a whole different league in terms of quality and tastiness. But far and away the most common customer comment on PAFF is that it reminds them of TB sauce (I hear once a week at least). I do think it's fair to the extent that both sauces feature a dominant cumin flavor, but the similarities pretty much end there. Anyways, Tapatio is a totally fair comparison too  ;)
 
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Oh of course - the packet is super efficient once they've already been made.

That said, it would be tough for someone like me to decide what sauce to use. If I send a sample of one of my sauces it does nothing for my other 7.

So in a way it almost does me a disservice to send 1 flavor sample, as it wouldn't represent my line.

That said, in a perfect world I'd make packet sized 1 oz samples for every one of my sauces, and could sell them for people's lunch boxes in variety packs.

And of course I'd also use some sell to fine shops like yours so you could use them to provide samples to customers.

I definitely see the marketing benefit of having them. Making the custom webbing for 8 varieties would be somewhat costly. More food for thought. ;)
 
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+++ to Scott's comments.  I'm just thinking here about the one flavor packets and the BigBoys who make them.
 
McIlhenneys has been in business for (140???+) years and they only made one flavor of hot sauce until about 8 years ago.  They can make packets of hot sauce, and also little teeny bottles included in MREs.  They pretty much make 1 flavor.  I don't see McIlhenneys making 7 runs of 7 packets of all their 'new" hot sauce flavors in little teeny tiny bottles and also blister packs.  Hell, theyndidn'tn even want to TRY a new flavor until about 10 years ago!     
 
Blister packs are expensive to run, and you have to have a receptive market for the recipients of said 50,000 blister packs. 
 
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Just thinking about this this morning-
one of the reason that would justify doing a run of one flavor would be if the hot sauce company were to get a contract with an institution.  Say, a school district, or university commissary.  Thinking big...military???...or a sandwich shop or other food chain that utilizes mayo, mustard and soy sauce packets.
 
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salsalady said:
Just thinking about this this morning-
one of the reason that would justify doing a run of one flavor would be if the hot sauce company were to get a contract with an institution.  Say, a school district, or university commissary.  Thinking big...military???...or a sandwich shop or other food chain that utilizes mayo, mustard and soy sauce packets.
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What if you got in with a chain restaurant, maybe a sandwich shop or burrito joint? That could justify doing a run of packets. There are a few burrito places here in GA that have walls of hot sauce bottles, but they are always all greasy and have caked on sauce around the lids, so I generally avoid them. It also doesn't make for easy saucing if I get take-out. 
 
TW
 
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pa1966stang said:
 
What if you got in with a chain restaurant, maybe a sandwich shop or burrito joint? That could justify doing a run of packets. There are a few burrito places here in GA that have walls of hot sauce bottles, but they are always all greasy and have caked on sauce around the lids, so I generally avoid them. It also doesn't make for easy saucing if I get take-out. 
 
TW
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It's a good proposition - but you have to consider restaurants run lean. Something like hot sauce packets is a bit of a luxury, and with Tapatio selling them at a fraction of the cost, it would be very difficult to compete.

And to add to that, many chains have franchise rules dictating what products they can carry.

Not saying there aren't some high end restaurants who might want to offer a more gourmet take-or sauce packet option, but it's a big gamble considering the entry cost.
 
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