Re: [CH] Bottling your own...

kevin@hotstuffoods.com ("kevin@hotstuffoods.com")
Sat, 25 May 2002 03:09:01 GMT 

Ted,
   For the relatively small quantities you are considering, I would
recommend bottling it yourself.  That's what I do... for a number of
reasons.  One is to guard my recipe -- the blend of spices I use is very
unique and the key to my products' unique flavors.  The other is to save
money.
   Granted, at that quantity, you will not get the pricing on bottles,
labels, etc. that a packager might be able to get, but I think you can save
a considerable amount overall doing it yourself.  I use large home-brew
fermentation vessels for aging my sauce.  Then when it's time to bottle,
the spigot on these vessels fit very well into the neck of a 5 oz. bottle.
   If you set up the proper work area and get a good rhythm going, you
should easily be able to knock out 48 bottles in an afternoon.  Add the
time for sterilizing the bottles, capping, sealing, and labelling... you're
probably looking at a good 25 hours or so.  That's only about 3 to 3.5
minutes per bottle total (not including the time to actually make the
sauce).  Plug in your own financial data here and you'll see you're still
making out pretty well.
   I hope this helps.  Any additional input or feedback is welcome!

Kevin Kauffman
HotStuf Foods
www.hotstuffoods.com

Ted Wagner writes:

> Ok, here's a good question for everyone.  Jim and everyone else out
> there feel free to step in.
> 
> Let's say I want to bottle and SELL my own hotsauce...let's say just 50
> gallons (480 bottles) using MY recipe.
> 
> Who do I go to?  Who do I TRUST that it'll be done right, etc.?
> 
> Or, rather, where is a good place to research this.  I've got a book on
> order called From Kitchen to Market by Stephen F. Hall.  I'm hoping
> that'll be of some help.  Are there any other good sources to assist in
> this research?
> 
> If this is a FAQ type question, I apologize.  I've not been getting
> very far with the library and internet searches for information.
> 
> Thank you
> 
> Ted
> 
> 
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience
> http://launch.yahoo.com