So you want to start your own Hot Sauce Company, but you keep running into roadblocks. You are going through the same thing I went through. It starts out simple, you figured out the right recipe and now want to take the next step. Well, I thought I would take a few minutes to share what I have gone through to help other chili-heads and share some resources that I have found and maybe save you some time.
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1. Supplies: (Woozy Bottles, Shrink Bands) There are many sites out there, selling products to make your own hot sauce, but most are very expensive. I have ordered from several sites and have had great success with Specialty Bottle. Until you are ready to make several thousand bottles, their prices for 5 Oz. Woozy Bottles are the best I have found. They also have drippers and shrink bands.
Website: www.specialtybottle.com -
2. Labels: I have used companies that use either digital, or printing presses. The digital seems a bit more expensive, but there are minimal set up costs. I am in CO and have used Lighting Labels, you can probably find your own local company by doing a web search…this is not a hard part of your set up. If you are having a company produce your sauce, you will need to make sure you get label rolls that work on auto labelers.
Website: www.lightninglabels.com -
3. Bar Codes: There are many free sites as well as very expensive sites for bar codes. You will need to purchase a barcode that cannot be used by someone else and is registered. I found a Nationwide Barcode through the CO Department of Agriculture that seemed very reasonable.
Website: www.nationwidebarcode.com -
4. Production: You will need to make your hot sauce in a clean facility, no more cooking it in the kitchen… I am in Colorado and went to the CO Department of Agriculture to find many local resources. Your State’s Dept. of Agriculture site should provide you with local Clean Kitchens and Co-packing facilities. I had to call around to many different companies, most companies didn’t have equipment to bottle using a 5 Oz. Woozy Bottle. There was also a huge difference in the pricing between the companies out there. Make sure you shop around to find a company that can produce your sauce and still leave margin for you. My first run is for 800 bottles of each flavor, that’s about as small of a batch as you can get.
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5. Nutrition Facts: I was able to have the production facility complete the nutrition facts for me for a few hundred dollars…avoid the companies that want to charge you thousands, it’s not that difficult.
I hope this gets you started and is helpful. If you like the advice or have any questions, let me know on my blog. If I really helped, why don’t you order some Tom’s Hot Sauce, that’s the best way to say thanks.
Best of luck.
Tom
Tom’s Hot Sauce was established in Denver, CO in 2008. Since then, Tom’s Hot Sauce has been producing Hot Sauces with a unique blend of Habaneros, Carrots and Yellow Peppers to create their signature smooth and mild habanero taste. Tom’s uses only the freshest, all natural ingredients and never adds preservatives. You can visit his site at www.Tomshotsauce.com.