OBSERVATIONS AND OUR FUTURE!

Good Morning,

Our first 3 years of running the shop has lead to some really fun observations of people. There are the young curious kids who want to know "dude, what's the hottest sauce ya' got?" (which is really fun to light them up and then they cry and thank us on their way out the door then they can't wait until their next visit only to do it all over again), to men who come in and gasp saying they have just arrived in heaven because of our collection of the spicy stuff to women who are constantly saying they "can't touch the stuff" because of the heat and they are just shopping for their husbands, fathers or brothers. We do get the occasional woman who can put her man on the mat by trying the hottest sauce in the store and he ends up in tears while she handles it just fine and scoffs at him. Then there are those from all around the country who walk in the door and say "what does a little shop in the Pacific Northwest know about hot sauces?" Hell, I'm from Texas or Arizona or New Mexico or whatever state of choice at the moment. This has always astounded me. Why do you have to come from Texas OR Arizona OR New Mexico to have a great recipe? I personally know a guy who now lives in San Diego who was displaced by Hurricane Katrina and he creates one of the best sauces ever. Voo Doo Queen! Now because he comes from San Diego does that mean he doesn't know his stuff? I think not. Amazing stuff. There are many West Coast producers who aren't getting the recognition they deserve. Which leads me to my next point........!

Our business plan going forward is to create a west coast distributorship on the mainland (for shipping purposes) and open another store attached to the warehouse. The hot sauce industry is exploding and has seen an overall increase of 64% in the past 10 years. People are cooking more at home and they are learning about all the health benefits peppers provide in their diet, as well as the wonderful flavors to experiment with. The people who scoff at "heat" don't take the time to find out that there is a wide range of heat and spice from mild to wild. Our goal is to change their thinking one person at a time. Right now, there are 2 major distributors, however they are on the east coast. We believe the west coast needs it's own representation and promotion. There are many fabulous producers in the 7 western states that could really send the industry reeling. Of course, all this takes time and money. That's what we're working on. We would love your ideas, thoughts, encouragement and anything else you want to send our way to consider. This industry is our passion and we tend to eat, drink, sleep and breathe it on a 24/7 basis. As we move into August, we hope all of you have had a fabulous July and we look forward to the future of what we call our chilihead adventure.