Even in their college days, Kelly Schexnaildre scoffed at the thin, vinegary hot sauces commonly available in restaurants and grocery stores, including brands like Tabasco. They wanted bold, fresh flavors that surprised and delighted the gourmet palate.

So they started making their own.

Schexnaildre never imagined the hot sauce industry would become one of the fastest-growing in the food world — or one that would see more than a dozen Colorado competitors sprout up.

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“When I founded it in 2014, there were maybe 25 or 30 total hot sauce companies across the entire U.S.,” said Schexnaildre, now 37 and CEO of Colorado-based Merfs Condiments (named for the family’s 13-year-old basset hound).

“Now there’s like 500 to 600,” Schexnaildre said.

Behind the growth is a mix of self-starter chefs, adventurous eaters, retail expansion, and the trendy “Hot Ones” series, which dares celebrities to run a gauntlet of 10 increasingly painful sauces while they answer questions posed by host Sean Evans. The show started on YouTube in 2015 and now counts 13.5 million subscribers; recent installments have featured Will Smith, Jennifer Lawrence, Pedro Pascal and Shakira, garnering anywhere from 1 million to 16 million views per episode.

“I call it the Oprah’s Book Club of the hot sauce world,” said David Delcourt, founder of Boulder’s Seed Ranch Flavor Co., which placed its Hot Thai Green sauce on “Hot Ones” Season 11. “You’re suddenly a known quantity, and now you’re getting into supermarket chains and sporting goods stores.”

Nabbing the “Hot Ones” seal of approval is the goal of many hot sauce companies, said Shaun Goodwin, founder of Denver-based Sauce Leopard. His savory Seventh Reaper, which is inspired by Argentine red chimichurri sauce, showed up on Hot Ones Season 18 and sells out most years at its Denver Christkindlmarket booth.

“Our (approach) since the beginning is to be plugged into the local scene,” said Goodwin, a former bartender whose company also sponsors music events and skating competitions.

Now Sauce Leopard can be found in more than 300 stores in six countries, Goodwin said, with revenue growth of 50% year-over-year. As with other hot sauce makers interviewed by The Denver Post, he declined to share sales figures. But they’re surely impressive, given that some makers also sell their wares in dedicated, local hot-sauce sections in King Soopers and Safeway.

Colorado’s carousel of quality hot sauces can be dizzying, and most are in direct competition with each other online and in stores. A far-from-complete list includes not only Merfs, Sauce Leopard and Seed Ranch, but Danny Cash, Quarantine Project, Yampa Valley Sauce Co., Purple Blaze, Horsetooth, Good Good, Redlaw, Burns & McCoy (which has had a pair of its hot sauces on “Hot Ones”), Chipporo, Wild Green, Reaper Robs, Cooper’s Small Batch, and Boulder Hot Sauce.

Colorful labels and extreme names such as Bird Blood, Hand Grenade and Dieselbones betray the general vibe of the industry’s marketing, which doesn’t take itself too seriously except when it comes to ingredients, flavor and Scoville units — or the measure of heat-carrying capsaicinoids.

The trend’s novelty even reached into a mayoral runoff debate in May 2023, with current Denver Mayor Mike Johnston debating then-candidate Kelly Brough as they ate spicy wings, courtesy of Denver eatery Fire on the Mountain, according to the event page.

It’s a far cry from the 1980s, when raspberry vinaigrettewas all the rage. Back then, bottled hot sauce was but a humble condiment, with annual sales of $40 million.

Now it’s a nearly $3 billion annual concern, with sales expected to double by 2032, according to a March report from Fortune Business Insights. The category has increased more than $700 million over the last decade as Millennials and Gen Z consumers embraced sriracha and other spicy, chile pepper-derived flavors, analysts said. It’s also piggybacked off a move toward all-natural, organic and vegetarian foods.

“A lot of growth came out of COVID,” said Delcourt, whose Seed Ranch Flavor Co. sells more than a dozen types of hot sauces. “People lost work and started out trying recipes at home, only to see their (hot sauces) sell out at markets and online. That’s leveled off, but it’s definitely become the new normal.”

Like others, Delcourt started selling his kitchen-made experiments in small batches — in this case, at Boulder Farmers Market in 2017 — and focusing on hot, unusual flavors and craft recipes instead of mild, crowd-pleasing varieties. Sales skyrocketed as people cooked at home more during the pandemic. He now sells bottles of Everything But the Taco Hot Sauce, for example, all over the world, including at specialty retailers such as Fort Collins’ quirky Hot Sauce Realm.

As with most producers, prices range from about $11 to $17 per bottle, and Delcourt has trouble keeping up with orders for sauces such as Peach Cayenne, which is currently sold out.

Hot sauces and salsas date back to the Aztecs, and fiery foods are common in traditional cuisine all over the world, from Indian vindaloo dishes to Thai-hot curries. It’s just that thrill-seekers have found a way to turn it into a social-media endurance test, as well as a food trend.

Countless YouTube and TikTok videos show risk-takers, typically men, eating raw chile peppers and challenging themselves not to drink milk or water — with predictably messy results. But the macho side of hot sauce culture is both exclusionary and beside the point, Schexnaildre said, as one-upmanship can only go so far until flavors get lost in the process.

“I sent ‘Hot Ones’ six or seven different packages, and can’t get a response now matter what I try,” Schexnaildre said. “I don’t know if it’s a boys-only club and I’m not allowed, but it’s disappointing.”

That hasn’t stopped Merfs and other hot sauce makers from catering to fans and evolving beyond their original flavors, having found success with best sellers such as Electric Lime and Jamberry Sriracha (both Merfs recipes). Seed Ranch this summer is expanding by launching its first Rocky Mountain Barbecue Sauce, made with a sweet-smoky purée of Palisade Peaches and other flavors.

“I love the richness and variety of having a lot of players in the game. It encourages each of us to be more creative and niche with our flavors,” Schexnaildre said. “Of course, I wish the market was a little less saturated so I could sell more hot sauce.”

Originally Published: June 27, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.