By John Allaire T hose foodie pictures you see on your friends’ social media pages are more than an exclamation of momentary bliss over reaping the spoils of a life well spent. There is actually a need buried somewhere in the human psyche driving people to share their good experi- ences with others. Kendall explains, “You know when you find a new recipe or have a great meal at a restaurant that you really love and want to share with everyone? And you take pictures and post it on social media? That’s what Tas- tingTheHeat.com is all about. We are offering the informa- tion we have gathered from all around the world and we have turned it into an easy, fun way to look up these differ- ent hot sauces and find out more about them.” The independent or “craft” revolution is no longer limited to breweries and distilleries. Boutique coffee producers, soda producers and hot sauce inventors are throwing their hat into the indie producers ring, and the potential for growth seems limitless. “If you look at the craft beer industry, the hot sauce industry is doing kind of the same thing,” Kendall points out. “Where your Budweiser and Miller is kind of like your ketchup… You know, name two or three brands of ketchup, and you would say Heinz or Hunts, but there aren’t a lot of them out there. And hot sauces used to be the same — just Tabasco and Frank’s. And now it is just exploding with independent hot sauce makers, just like the craft beer industry. The choices out there now are amazing!” “We are offering the information we have gathered from all around the world.” This is evidenced by full stores and mall outlets across North America being dedicated solely to hot sauces, salsas and other spicy condiments. Kendall explains that this is where you can use TastingTheHeat.com to full advantage. “You can go into these hot sauce boutiques and bring up TasingTheHeat.com on your smart phone, find reviews for many of the hot sauces on the shelf, and make informed choices. And we only review what we consider to be the very best. Consumers can really benefit from the legwork we have done for them.” Unlike the craft beer and distillery world, where craft products are still hovering around the 5% mark of total mar- ketshare, The Stadler’s research tells a different story in the hot sauce world. In fact, the independent producers have flipped the tables, leaving a mere 30% of the marketshare to the major players. “The other 70%, which is huge, are these small-batch boutique hot sauce makers. And there are now thousands of them, and the numbers are growing every day. It is getting to the point where they are making new sauces, and the flavor is becoming more important than the heat. The heat is becoming an added benefit.”
When a business venture is driven by pure passion, the excitement it creates can ooze off the webpage and onto your plate. Literally. Such is the case with Tastingtheheat.com, a website dedicated to lovers of hot sauces, salsas and just about anything that will make your taste buds stand up and sing! Kendall Stadler, a retired rock and roll musician out of St. Clair, Michigan teamed up with his wife Tracy and decided to let their passion guide them into their future. Three years ago, while honeymooning on a beach, they started talking about those TV ads you see where people declare “I can work from anywhere. I have an Internet business.” The wheels started turning and Tracy referenced Kendall’s love of hot sauces as a possible business direction. An avid connoisseur of hot sauces from around the world, the idea made perfect sense to Kendall. Specifically, a review site where people could quickly look up and read about the best sauces being produced on the market today. A reference guide to the new independent hot sauce revolution. Spotlight on Business Magazine spoke with Kendall Stadler about his website, his social media presence, his motivation, and how he and his wife are hitting the road in search of the best hot sauces and spicy foods from around the world.
Of course, social media plays an increasingly large role in
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DECEMBER 2018 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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