The Hot Sauce Co is a small-batch, locally made hot sauce company right here in London, Ontario.

With shows like Hot Ones becoming more and more popular, hot sauces have become on-trend. But so many hot sauces out there are gimmicky, less about flavour and more about melting your face off when you try them. Hot sauces are often associated with stubborn pride and food challenges. You see names like Satan’s Blood, Beyond Insanity, and Puckerbutt gracing the hot sauce bottles. Their marketing is simple: make this sound to be too hot to handle and see who steps up to the challenge.

The Hot Sauce Co isn’t that kind of hot sauce maker. The Hot Sauce Co isn’t about gimmicks. The hot sauces don’t have fancy names to evoke images of pain and suffering. They let their hot sauce speak for itself. They create spicy products with unquestionable quality, and when you try their hot sauce, you’ll taste the difference for yourself.  

The thing is that spicy food can be delicious. It doesn’t just have to be about burning. Hot sauce is a condiment. It’s meant to complement food, give a punch of flavour, create balance in a dish, and highlight other flavours in the meal. The Hot Sauce Co makes precisely that kind of hot sauce. It’s the hot sauces for foodies. It’s the hot sauces that will spark culinary adventures in the kitchen. It’s the hot sauce that you reach for again and again. 

Learn all about The Hot Sauce Co., how they got started, the products that they make, and their pursuit of the highest quality.

You can find The Hot Sauce Co. hot sauces in multiple locations across the city, including Shop Locorum, Covent Garden Market,  Unwrapped Marketplace, On The Move Organics, Dos Tacos, Grace Pantry Online Market, and Frank & Furter’s.

The Story

Jesse Long has always loved spicy food. He can even remember drinking tabasco straight from the bottle when he was young. His love for spicy things continued when he went to Fanshawe College. When he was a student there he was the founder of the school’s hot sauce club. It was through this club that he created one of the recipes of The Hot Sauce Co.’s products: Habanero & Mango.

Coming out of Fanshawe, Jesse actually started a successful career in IT and even started up an import business with a friend. But through it all, despite his success, Jesse held on to the dream of creating hot sauces. As someone who enjoys cooking, delicious food, and feeding people, creating hot sauces fits right in with all of his passions.  He decided to make a go at it and purchased 4500 glass bottles as a way to commit himself to at least selling 4500 hot sauces.

Jesse participated in an incubator and small business programs to try and figure out his game plan for the business and how to sell his hot sauce. The initial strategy was going to be to start with expos, shows, and festivals. In a normal year, London becomes festival central during the summertime.

Unfortunately, the pandemic turned Jesse’s strategy to ashes. Like any great entrepreneur, Jesse adapted and turned his focus to online sales and wholesales. Jesse has put in the hustle and as people are trying out his hot sauces, they’re becoming big-time fans. With 5-star ratings on Google and Facebook, it’s easy to see that The Hot Sauce Co. isn’t going anywhere but up.

The Products

Jesse makes his hot sauce in small batches, ensuring quality through every step of the process. He uses the best ingredients in his sauces. The peppers are sourced locally when they’re in season. When it’s not hot pepper season, the peppers come from Cuba.

Habanero & Mango Hot Sauce

Heat Level: 3 out of 5

This hot sauce plays with sweet heat to pack a flavour punch that keeps you going back for more. Habanero and mango is a beautiful match that was meant to go together. The spices and plum tomatoes balance out the sweet and the heat to give a rounded experience on the pallet.

Enjoy this versatile hot sauce on so many dishes. Try it out on breakfast burritos, noodles, chicken wings and pizza. Use it in Jambalaya to add an extra kick and to compliment the flavours. Add it to Mach & Cheese for a surprising elevation of such a comforting dish.

Peppers & Pickles Hot Sauce

Heat Level: 1 out of 5

If you’re a fan of flavourful sauces that offer a complex and addictive taste, then this hot sauce is for you. It’s the perfect condiment that you’ll be pulling out for every occasion. The tangy pickle punch makes it the perfect pairing for so many things.

This hot sauce is perfect for beginner heat lovers who might not be able to handle their heat, but love flavour. It features jalapeños, tomatillos, sea salt, and more. Its bright green colour is eye-catching and is just begging to be used on all sorts of barbecued meals.

This is a must-have for your kitchen. It’s great for summer staples like hot dogs, sausages, and hamburgers and will even kick up your pasta salads to a whole new flavour level. Try adding it to casseroles to give that little something-something. Top fish tacos and oysters with this. Next time you have charcuterie, add this to the board and experiment with all kinds of delicious pairings. It also pairs exceptionally with seafood.

Habanero & Herbs Hot Sauce

Heat Level: 4 out of 5

This hot sauce has a lot of heat, but it’s all about flavour. Because of the special blend of herbs and spices, this hot sauce is bursting with a fresh flavour. Among the ingredients, you’ll be able to taste coriander, cloves, and black peppercorn.

Foodies will love using this hot sauce in so many of their dishes. Try it out with falafel, grilled meats, and roasted veggies. Use it as a secret ingredient for chilis and stews. It can take loaded potatoes to the next level and is the perfect topping for steak tacos. You’ll want to include this on the table for roast beef dinners too!

Reusable Bags

Tote bags are one of those things that you can’t really have too much of. They’re handy for when you find yourself with too few hands for whatever you’re carrying. They help to reduce our use of plastics, which is much better for the environment. They are a great and eco-friendly alternative to gift bags. They also are a great way to rep your favourite brands!

These tote bags are durable and 15×15 inches and bright red handles. These eco-friendly bags are great for your lunch, grocery shopping, and can be folded up nice and small to be tucked conveniently into a purse or other locations for when you need it.

The Community

Anyone who follows The Hot Sauce Co. on social media knows that they are a company that supports other local companies. They’ve partnered with other small, local businesses to create giveaways, valentine’s packages, and more. Jesse has fostered relationships, supporting other local businesses, building them up and working together.

That’s why we’re so excited that The Hot Sauce Co is part of the Shop Locorum family. Shop Locorum was created out of our desire to help Londoners support local. We’re an online store that is exclusively for small, local businesses. You can find all of your favourite local businesses under one virtual roof to make supporting local easier. Plus, no matter how many brands you shop from, you’ll only ever pay one flat-rate shipping fee and once your order is fulfilled we’ll deliver it to you within 24 hours.

We’re so passionate about supporting local that we’ve created a rewards program to help Londoners choose local. Every time you make a purchase on Shop Locorum you earn Locorum Rewards, which you can use like cash on your next local purchase. It’s basically like getting paid to shop! You can check out Shop Locorum here.