[CH] Starting your own hot sauce biz
Judith Stone (madpepco@gte.net)
Thu, 29 Jan 1998 12:14:32 -0500
As far as I know, Matt, there aren't any websites that deal directly
with starting your own busness. You could check out
http://www.fiery-foods.com website to see if they have any articles that
are written on this subject. I don't know if you are familiar with
these people, but Dave Dewitt, the former editor from Chile Pepper
magazine, has started a publication that goes directly to the trade.
It was easy for us to start our business. We have a Mexican cafe and
already had everything in place. Just had to get a few more permits and
pay more money. Also had a built-in audience for tasting the sauces. I
would suggest to you that you contact your state agricultural bureau and
they will send you the guidelines that you have to use in bottling your
sauces. The law in Florida is that you have to bring the sauces to 165
degrees before bottiling. We bring ours to 175 degrees just to be safe
and we put them in a 320 degree oven with the shrink wraps on them for
an addiitonal ten to fifteen minutes.
As for marketing the product, you might try some of the local affairs
like art and craft shows, food fairs, and other local events. Once you
establish a bit of credibility, you can then approach the bigger
distributors. Make sure your pricing can handle the kind of price cut
they will demand.
If you need any other info, please let me know.