Fire Up Your Bottom Line with Australian Chilli Sauces

On the lookout for punchy companion products, palate-perking pick-me-ups or irresistible impulse buys?

Chilli sauce delivers on so many levels that you’ll soon find prime real estate in your fine food store or on your menu to show it off.

When it comes to chilli sauce, you’ll find most people fit into two main camps; those who hardly bother with it and those who squirt it all over their meals! And then there are those who consider themselves chilli sauce aficionados. As the saying goes, “some like it hot”, but of course, others like it to blow their heads off! That’s the beauty of chilli sauce; there’s something for everyone.

Americans, in particular, adore embellishing all kinds of foods in their preferred sauce. Never underestimate the value of condiments in the good ol’ U. S. of A. Here in Australia, consumers are a little more discerning and some people practically take oaths of allegiance to their favourite brands. There are homemade varieties, mass produced brands and in between, whole cottage industries devoted to that superb gourmet concoction of tomatoes, chillies, herbs and spices.

How hot is hot enough?

Chilli sauces originally hailed from the sweat-drenched climes of Mexico, where the hotter the food, the cooler your body would be when you ate it. Pick your medicine from a spectrum of heats beginning with the very mild containing tomatoes, sautéed onions, mild chillies and colourful capsicums. Graduates of the mild chilli sauces progress to warmer varieties, some which include irresistible smoked chillies that infuse a depth of flavour that can’t be created any other way. The real ‘heat-heads’ are those who, over time, have developed a jaded palate and become converts of the scalp-sweating, stomach-torturing, beat-the-chest-in-triumph flaming hot sauces.

Anyone who devours chillies like others snack on cheese cubes will be familiar with the Scoville scale, a measurement of the spicy heat, or piquance of chilli peppers. The number of Scoville heat units indicates the level of capsaicin, a chemical compound that stimulates nerve endings in the skin, particularly the mucous membranes. At the lowest end of the scale are pimentos and banana capsicums. Soaring at the other extreme, the naga jolokia or bhut jolokia are just a notch below the kind of capsaicinoids that are used in law enforcement!!

Added benefits

Chilli sauce is a brilliant product to offer retail customers for so many reasons: 

• It’s an undeniably tasty addition to many different foods so it makes the perfect companion product to other items you stock.
• Most chilli sauces are 99% fat free and contain fresh, natural ingredients.
• It appeals to vegetarians, vegans and in many cases, even those who require gluten free food. Some chilli sauces are certified organic.
• It’s a great little item to offer as taste tests to create buzz in your store and potentially sell complementary products such as crackers, breads and meats. 

For caterers, restaurants and cafes, chilli sauces can inspire new menu choices. Expand your vegetarian or vegan offerings, cater to lovers of low fat, high flavour foods and consider tantalising tastebuds and attracting repeat visits by creating a “chilli sauce of the week” promotion. As a result, your menu becomes dynamic and ever-changing and patrons, especially chilli sauce lovers, will wonder what’s coming next. Chilli sauces will spice up your dishes and enthuse your customers with very little extra expense or effort. Jump on the chilli sauce bandwagon and watch profits heat up.

Take a look at these companies that all have Australian chilli sauce on offer:

Chilli Willies Pepper Sauces

Stott's Delicacies

Tar10