You MUST have an extreme sauce...

The Hot Pepper

The Hot Pepper

Founder
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If you are a hot sauce company, in my opinion, you MUST have an extreme sauce if you want to be talked about and frequented by chiliheads. This could be the key to your success. You may have some great flavorful, somewhat hot sauces, but chiliheads are likely to skip your product line entirely. Usually they will try the extreme sauce, and then look at what else you have to offer. If you are a small company that offers great flavorful sauces, and are wondering why they are not selling, try adding an extreme sauce, and let the chilihead community know about it. This is just my opinion! I am an observer, not a professional sauce maker.
 
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thehotpepper.com said:
Possible scenarios...

Chilihead 1: I heard Marco's Not Yet Famous Salsas are really good!

Chilihead 2: Really? I'll have to try them sometime.

Never orders.

OR

Chilihead 1: I heard Marco's Not Yet Famous Red Savina Salsa is the hottest you can get. It will burn your tongue off!

Chilihead 2: I don't believe that, salsas are never hot. I've got to try this!

Chilihead 1: How was that salsa?

Chilihead 2: Wow, now that's a salsa for a chilihead, and it was a quality product. I'm going to try the rest of his stuff.

Get them interested, sort of on a dare, when they realize you have quality products, they will order more. Chiliheads love heat, but also care about quality and like an array of products, you just have to draw them in with the heat.
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THP, i am totally with you on this one, off course you don't know it until you try it....
 
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imaguitargod said:
Hey, I'm a mutant but am not a politicain, so there you go. There is a seperation.
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Hmmm, come to think of it, I am a bit of a mutant as well...But perhaps there isn't such a separation from the other body as I am seeking the title, "Future Ruler of Earth".:hell:
 
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I would like to jump in here late.

We've been around quite awhile seen lots of companies come and go in this industry and while we don't make an extreme hot sauce ( personal decision) I do see that companies that make extreme sauces do very well. But I also think with the growth of this industry just in the almost 10 years we've been doing it there is room for your more gourmet sauces or flavor before heat type sauces. We like to feature the different chiles in our products like green habaneros, scotch bonnets, etc.
In short I think there is a place for all types of sauces.

Just a quick example a few years back at the fiery food show Original Juan was introducing at the time the worlds hottest sauce
The source ( 7 million Scovilles) they were trying to get volunteers to try it and take your pic for an ad they had no takers. They even tried to recruit vendors still no takers.
I've also seen where if you don't have an extreme type sauce you get left in the dust.
Ok so not so quick example

Mick
Kato's
 
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I don't think this is necessarily so true

thehotpepper.com said:
If you are a hot sauce company, in my opinion, you MUST have an extreme sauce if you want to be talked about and frequented by chiliheads. This could be the key to your success. You may have some great flavorful, somewhat hot sauces, but chiliheads are likely to skip your product line entirely. Usually they will try the extreme sauce, and then look at what else you have to offer. If you are a small company that offers great flavorful sauces, and are wondering why they are not selling, try adding an extreme sauce, and let the chilihead community know about it. This is just my opinion! I am an observer, not a professional sauce maker.
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I disagree. For the newbies to the field this is true. But they really aren't the ones dictating the market. The ones who repeat purchasing a good sauce are the ones who really are chiliheads. I have come across Mild to Wild company before their Backdraft product and I was always getting Red Savina Garlic and Pure Arson which aren't extract based sauces.
 
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DEFCON Creator said:
With the drastic influx of newbies to this market, they could very well dictate the market.
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That depends on the success rate. The "old" established businesses aren't going anywhere. To become established in a local market takes a lot of work. I don't know how many people will want to continue after that for national recoginition.
 
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kato said:
I would like to jump in here late.

We've been around quite awhile seen lots of companies come and go in this industry and while we don't make an extreme hot sauce ( personal decision) I do see that companies that make extreme sauces do very well. But I also think with the growth of this industry just in the almost 10 years we've been doing it there is room for your more gourmet sauces or flavor before heat type sauces. We like to feature the different chiles in our products like green habaneros, scotch bonnets, etc.
In short I think there is a place for all types of sauces.

Just a quick example a few years back at the fiery food show Original Juan was introducing at the time the worlds hottest sauce
The source ( 7 million Scovilles) they were trying to get volunteers to try it and take your pic for an ad they had no takers. They even tried to recruit vendors still no takers.
I've also seen where if you don't have an extreme type sauce you get left in the dust.
Ok so not so quick example

Mick
Kato's
Click to expand...

As will always be the case with my opinions regarding the true business end of the hot "stuff" industry, I believe each maker has to start with a predetermined, well defined marketing plan. In other words, what is the targeted segment of the market. I read where Blair is putting hundreds of personal hours into making weird little bottles that sell for obviously over-inflated prices. Okay - for him. Meanwhile last week I sent 44 pallets (40,000 bottles) of Stirling Gourmet Syrups to Taiwan. REALLY OKAY - for me! If I get more serious about E.Z. EARL'S HOT SAUCES it is that type of market movement I want - pallets at wholesale, not bottles or cases at retail. Flat out I can never get there with "extremes'. Large market share is what it is all about to me. (if I decide to go for it!) - E.Z.
 
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DEFCON Creator said:
With the drastic influx of newbies to this market, they could very well dictate the market.
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I doubt it. They may influence one segment of the market, but the consumer market is too large to be dominated by one mind-set, be it "extreme-chiliheads" or "moderate chiliheads". A niche will always be available at some level into which a maker can push for "vertical market penetration" if he or she is capable of recognizing and exploiting the opening. - E.Z.
 
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E.Z. Earl said:
As will always be the case with my opinions regarding the true business end of the hot "stuff" industry, I believe each maker has to start with a predetermined, well defined marketing plan. In other words, what is the targeted segment of the market. I read where Blair is putting hundreds of personal hours into making weird little bottles that sell for obviously over-inflated prices. Okay - for him. Meanwhile last week I sent 44 pallets (40,000 bottles) of Stirling Gourmet Syrups to Taiwan. REALLY OKAY - for me! If I get more serious about E.Z. EARL'S HOT SAUCES it is that type of market movement I want - pallets at wholesale, not bottles or cases at retail. Flat out I can never get there with "extremes'. Large market share is what it is all about to me. (if I decide to go for it!) - E.Z.
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Some see Blair's collectibles as "overinflated", some see these works from Blair a total bargain considering the time and effort that goes into these bottles. These are indeed true "extreme" sauces created for a niche market, and when you take into account that he produced only 500 of the Firecracker 500's at $100.00 a pop, that's $50,000.00 for 500 bottles of sauce, so I really don't think that the niche market sould be so underestimated. Blair sells 1,000's of cases of his sauce's to the world, and still finds the time to cater to the niche market that got him where he is today.
Did the niche market of extreme hot sauces begin before or after the sudden increase of fiery foods that you now find in the common grocery stores? Sauces have been around for decades and we are blessed to live in a time where a small group of focused manufacturers are breaking new ground with intense heat, as well as creating flavorful sauces.
 
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