First We Feast’s Camera Guy Bill from Hot Ones.
BY CHRISTIAN SPENCER
The hottest place in New York City was the Hot Sauce Expo, which took center stage on September 20 at Industry City.
Hot sauce enthusiasts from across the country gathered under one roof at the Sunset Park complex to test palates and promote their craft.
Now in its 12th year, the convention reflects how consumer interest in flavorful heat has exploded, fueling a booming industry that’s literally heating up the foodie scene.
Styled as part festival and part tasting, the Hot Sauce Expo drew regional and national brands with the same cult-like energy as a garage band performing for die-hard fans.
Several sauces featured have made their way onto Hot Ones, the viral YouTube talk show where celebrities are interviewed while eating wings doused in increasingly fiery sauces. Attendees were able to sample many of the very same bottles, and more, that scorched the stars.
The expo also spotlighted the craft with divisional awards for top hot sauces and high-intensity eating contests, where competitors tore through chicken, pizza, and tacos at blistering speed.
Crowds snaked through rows of vendors offering samples balanced on tortilla chips while games, raffles, and heavy-metal beats filled the converted warehouse with a mix of county-fair ease and culinary brinkmanship.
In the abundance of condiments, many of the sauces were as diverse as the companies themselves, ranging from garlic-forward and sweet to those that leave throats raw and tongues numb.
For Scott Nuhfer of Torchbearer Sauces in Pennsylvania, his family-run company’s hot sauces were designed not just to be tasted but to be endured.
“It’s about flavor first,” Nuhfer said, holding up a bottle of Sucker Punch featured in season 23 of Hot Ones. “But we know people come here for the heat.”
The array of sauces from Torchbearer Sauces.
Hundreds of attendees, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., stretched their stomachs with an intense array of flavors. For Ben Williams, whose queer-owned Mastodon company serves consumers seeking rich tastes with a kick subtle enough not to be mistaken for pure fire, the focus is on flavor as much as heat.
“I think that the hot sauce industry is so big and there’s so many makers. I think there’s room for everybody and we’re all doing different things, even though we’re focused on different things. I think launching a company especially—we could certainly make a super hot sauce and make things that are just based on heat,” Williams said. “But in the end, I believe that hot sauce can exist as a condiment company or as a condiment in general. And it’s for me really about enhancing your meal and not destroying it. And so we really wanted to focus on things that lift flavors.”
Hot sauce isn’t just a fiery condiment; it’s one of the fastest-growing industries in the country.
Nuhfer said, “It’s about flavor first. It’s one of the number one growing industries in the country right now. They’re predicting about a 25 to 50 percent boost over the next 10 years. From the numbers I heard, it’s about $3 billion a year in hot sauces all over the world, if not more.”
According to recent market research, the global hot sauce market was valued at $3.6 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow at a 6.3 percent annual rate, reaching nearly $5.87 billion by 2032, fueled by rising consumer interest in spicy foods, artisanal flavors, and social media-driven food culture.
The aforementioned Hot Ones is a key player not only at the expo but in the broader hot sauce culture in New York. The show partners with Heatonist, a specialty hot sauce company that curates and sells many of the sauces featured on the hit series.
“So Heatonist started—our founder, Noah Chamber, started Heatonist in 2013 as a pushcart, and then shortly after that opened the Brooklyn store. And the whole thing is we carry a lot of small-batch, all-natural hot sauces made with really unique ingredients and flavors. So just kind of spotlighting all of the small-batch makers. And then he ended up meeting the folks that work for Hot Ones and produced the show. And so we struck up a partnership with them, and he now helps curate the Hot Ones lineup for the show,” said Brianna Quaglia, marketing director.
The expo organizer, Steve Seabury of High River Sauces, described the hot sauce scene alongside the once BuzzFeed-produced show promotion as the land of misfits and friends supporting each other. No one is really in competition with each other because the sauces are generally about giving consumers a desired reaction to their specific needs.
“I love the small vendors. I always want to support the underground. You know, I first started out one day, and someone helped me out, and it’s my turn to return the favor, you know. So always pay it forward, help people out, and good things come out of it, you know,” Seabury said. “I figure the pie is big enough for us all, so we always help everyone out, and I just think it’s a good thing to do.”
