By tf-lawyer.com Brooklyn Beckham is quickly following in the footsteps of Ed Sheeran, Alice Cooper, and Kim Kardashian as consumers develop a growing taste for hot sauces.
Recently, Beckham launched his spicy venture, Cloud 23, entering the fiery flavor market with a pair of sauces: Hot Habanero and Sweet Jalapeño. Priced at £15 a bottle, these sauces boast labels adorned with cherubic designs that evoke the elegance of a luxury perfume brand.
At just 25 years old, Beckham joins the ranks of celebrity hot sauce creators. Ed Sheeran has his own offering, Tingly Ted’s, while Alice Cooper’s line features sauces inspired by his iconic songs, such as Poison Reaper. Not to be left out, Kim Kardashian has invested in Truff, a truffle-infused hot sauce loved by Oprah Winfrey.
But it’s not only the A-list that’s getting heated up by hot sauce. Consumers are increasingly seeking out these spicy condiments, with online retailer Ocado reporting a year-on-year sales increase of 10%. Their inventory includes over 100 varieties of hot sauces, and interest in Korean and chipotle flavors has surged by 850% and 292%, respectively.
The explosion of craft hot sauce brands, which come in Instagram-worthy packaging and feature unique ingredients like ghost peppers and yuzu, is particularly noteworthy.
James Nicolian, co-founder of Some Like It Hot, an online retailer specializing in rare hot sauces, describes hot sauce as “the closest thing to magic. It makes everything better.” Nicolian personally tastes every sauce before adding it to his inventory, and he currently has about 2,500 bottles stored in extra fridges at home and in his garage.
This rising trend can be partially linked to the popular YouTube show Hot Ones, where celebrities face increasingly spicy chicken wings while answering questions. Idris Elba famously swore his way through the challenge, Jennifer Lawrence shed tears, and Ricky Gervais couldn’t complete it.
Jen Ferguson, co-founder of Hop Burns and Black, a bottle shop that pairs hot sauces with craft beers, says their box featuring sauces from the Hot Ones show is a major bestseller. “It costs over £100, but we sell hundreds and hundreds of packs. People want to recreate the challenge.”
Beyond the kitchens, hot sauce festivals and TikTok tours of hot sauce collections are gaining traction, with forums arising for those seeking to build up their spice tolerance. Nicolian is even preparing to launch the UK’s first certified “hot sauce sommelier” course.
The Scoville scale measures the spiciness of hot sauces based on their capsaicin content. While Da’ Bomb Beyond Insanity, which exceeds 135,000 Scoville units (making it 60 times hotter than a jalapeño), has its fans, many of Ferguson’s customers prefer sauces that offer rich flavors without overwhelming heat.
Nicolian sees a growing demand for hot sauces as accompaniments for cheese boards as Christmas approaches, affirming, “There really is a hot sauce for everything.” He enjoys sprinkling it on coffee, ice cream, and even brings his own selection when dining out. Interestingly, after sending a box of his sauces to a chef who was offended by his habit, Nicolian received a message weeks later asking for more.
