If you have created a fantastic tasting hot sauce with just enough heat to attract the avid consumer and you want to sell it to a mass audience then there are many ways to reach them. Bringing samples to festive gatherings and giving them to friends are a great start but now you are ready to expand.
How do I market my hot sauce?
The first step in marketing your product is to define who your customers will be by defining your target market. This audience is going to be classified by age group, ethnic race, occupation and income.
According to the NY Times young males are the target audience for the introduction of a new hot sauce product. Although the article is several years old this holds true to recent research in the increase of hot sauce consumption.
The millennial generation is soon to be the largest living generation and will be surpassing the size of the baby boomers, and millennials love their Sriracha. This market is saturated with pared flavors and products containing the Sriracha branding.
Further research states that it is the thrill-seeking personalities that are consuming these sauces in which the young male would fit. Activities associated with this personality would be bungy jumping, skydiving, white water rafting and scuba diving.
Now that you have a great product and you know who you are selling to it is time to market. Check out this great article on 3 Ways To Protect Your Hot Sauce Recipe.
1. Vegan
Not much needs to be done differently to the sauce to meet this marketing criteria. Making the extra effort to achieve and label your sauce with these titles could help your sauce stand out. Vinegar is a main ingredient in many hot sauces and not all consider it to be vegan. Producing your own vinegar can ensure that you are marketing your product true to the vegan label.
2. Heat level
This is probably very difficult to achieve. At the time of this article the hottest sauce in the Guinness Book of World Records was Mad Dog 357. You could get very specific and market your sauce as the hottest wing sauce or hottest jalapeno by refining what your sauce is.
3. Gluten Free
Gluten Free means no wheat or gluten containing products and I don’t know of many sauces that contain wheat, so you already have reason for this on your label. This label on products is becoming more popular and is a simple marketing strategy.
4. Clever name
This works for every product ever sold in any industry. Just read some of the names like “Satan’s Blood” and “Ass in Space”. I have bought these sauces on the name of the product alone. Keep in mind that you are competing with household names like Tabasco and Franks. Although there may not be much cleverness to these names they stand out in popularity. This also leads to eye catchy or cleaver graphics.
5. Catchy logo
To me simplicity is the best. A simple catchy logo with one or two colors can make your product stand out. Take for example the nike swoosh. I have seen flames and a combination of red peppers many times. The millennial generation will most often be attracted to the minimalist shape of simple designs.
6. Pricing
Again, this is nothing new in the world of sales. If you under price your competitor, it will give you a great advantage toward finalizing the sale. However, I will pay top dollar for the name brand that is my favorite but not everyone will. If your using a similar sauce in a recipe it could be worth saving a few bucks without compromising what ever tasty treat you are producing. The millennial population prefers a lower priced product and also will be more likely to purchase a generic brand as opposed to the more expensive name brand.
7. Appearance
I have seen some interesting bottle shapes aside from a standard woozy style that really make a sauce stand out. These are usually artisan sauces you purchase at festivals or online sites. Custom made bottles can get expensive but will make your product really stand out.
8. Social media
This is new school word of mouth, but the idea is to get people to eat it, like it and spread the word. Influencers would be a great opportunity to get your product introduced to new consumers. They are more likely to research a product online and this is the method of research they would use.
9. Online sales
The target market for hot sauce is not concerned about online security risks and will be inconvenienced by having to make this purchase otherwise. Amazon, Esty, Facebook and other websites are all ways to get your product seen. Shopping at a physical store is the last option that a millennial would make.
10. Environmental friendliness
There are eco friendly hot sauce products using organic ingredients and biodegradable packaging. Glass bottles that hot sauce typically comes in are recyclable to begin with. Also keep in mind that organic produce can be much costlier than a hot sauce with peppers grown with pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
I would believe that major brands of hot sauce manufacturers have taken some of these marketing factors into consideration and is why they have a version of their sauce with more specific pallets in mind. There are currently hundreds of hot sauce manufacturers in the world and this will only increase. With the demand increasing through 2026 so will the number of companies looking to sell to the young male.
