HotBabe-HotSauce Nominated for Economic Courage Award

Economic courage could be defined as a leader, a business, nonprofit and or organization that, while facing economic uncertainty and a radical retraction of “business as usual,” took extraordinary steps to provide a service, a product, and or a support service that made a positive impact to the community and or employees of their organization. These individuals took economic risks to continue providing a service, product and or resource in the face of unprecedented economic uncertainty. Showing the ability to adapt, change and thrive during uncertainty. The Thurston EDC awarded Economic Courage Awards at the Hootenanny on July 19.
Learn more here: https://thurstonedc.com/hootenanny/.

During the past year, HotBabe-Hot Sauce showed Economic Courage and has been nominated for an Economic Courage Award.

We asked Sandra and Fiona to answer some questions about the past year and how the business took extraordinary steps to impact our community positively. Their answers are below.

What year was your business/organization established?

HotBabe-HotSauce was established in 2013 as a sole proprietorship.  In 2017 we incorporated the business.

How many employees do you have?

Two full time (owners) and three part-time.

Is your reach local, regional or national?

Our focus is western WA, although we do sell and ship our hot sauces nationwide through our online store

What does your business do? What services do you provide?

We create and make original Caribbean hot sauces, both fresh and shelf-stable as well as seasonal fruit-based hot sauces.  We have created partnerships with now two Thurston county growers/farmers to grow and supply us with high-quality true varietal Caribbean hot peppers.  Our arrangement includes guaranteeing we will purchase their whole harvest.  The winter pepper planning meetings have become an integral part of our business.

What specific niche does your business fill in this community?

While there are other local hot sauce companies, our range of hot sauces offers our customers authentic tastes of the Caribbean made with top-quality ingredients

What are some key elements you attribute to your business’s success?

Our customers love our story, they love meeting us in the markets.  They love our commitment to quality using locally grown fresh peppers.  They love the fact that we use Sandra’s original artwork for our labels and the opportunity to taste the heat and delicious flavors of the Caribbean.