The hot sauce industry in the United States is continuing to grow at a rate of approximately 5% per year. With the plethora of hot sauce choices available online and in retail locations, finding the right hot sauce can be daunting for any hot sauce enthusiast.
During our extensive research, we surveyed over one thousand participants about what they think makes one hot sauce brand better than the other. What we found out is that most hot sauce enthusiasts rate the better hot sauces based on ingredients, preparation, and flavor. There are different levels of hot sauce manufacturing just like there are different levels to manufacturing shoes or anything else. You can buy cheap shoes that use low-cost materials, you can choose a medium-priced shoe that uses better materials, or you can choose a premium shoe that is handmade and uses the best materials.
Some of the attributes that people highlighted in the survey were words such as “all-natural,” “vegan friendly,” “gourmet,” and “small batch” to name a few. These words seem to convey quality for hot sauce buyers. We also found that hot sauce buyers come in many forms. There are the price-conscious buyers versus the quality-conscious buyers. Over 67% of survey participants indicated that they were more concerned with quality as opposed to price. Our research shows that people who are foodies or who enjoy cooking are more likely to spend more money on the hot sauce with high-quality ingredients than a lower-priced watered-down hot sauce.
Our take on this question is simple, people who like good hot sauce are willing to pay for it. The average hot sauce pricing for a 5 oz bottle range from $4 on the low-end to $25 on the premium end. Surprisingly, we found that more than two-thirds of the people surveyed preferred quality over price.