West Indies Peppa Sauce (WIPS), a startup based in Orlando, Fla., draws on traditional West Indian flavors to carve out space in the hot sauce market, which is projected to reach $1.95 billion by 2032, according to Fortune Business Insights.
When WIPS Co-Founder Randy Pulayya and his wife lost their jobs, they saw an opportunity in the hot sauce market to turn his grandmother’s beloved Scotch bonnet pepper sauce recipe into a CPG brand.
“When life gives you peppers, you make pepper sauce,” Pulayya said.
With two flavors, Red Scotch Bonnet and Yellow Scotch Bonnet, WIPS uses natural ingredients and is vegan and gluten-free. Pulayya says that WIPS goes beyond a sauce, morphing into other condiments – from a marinade or a spice to even an extra kick for cocktails.
The ingredients are from US and Costa Rica where Pulayya says he does not foresee any sourcing challenges. According to Pulayya, the brand is working with one of the largest suppliers of Scotch Bonnet peppers and through these relationships, he expects to maintain a consistent and scalable supply.
‘You’ve got to protect your brand’
Although the founders are new to CPG, their background in tech and marketing helped them focus on essentials, like IP protection, before working with a co-packer.
“The consumer package industry is really new to us. First things first, you’ve got to get trademarked. You’ve got to protect your brand,” he said.
Using money from savings, the co-founders bootstrapped the business and focused on educating themselves from fellow founders and industry programs, such as the University of Arkansas’ Food Innovation Center. Pulayya also credits support from the startup community and programs, like Startup CPG and the Specialty Food Association, for developing industry acumen and connections.
The startup scene is “a big community, but it’s very small, and I think the vibe that we’re getting from everybody is they want to see you succeed,” he said.
Building retail distribution and brand awareness
The brand’s retail distribution is still nascent but growing, with a presence in a few stores in Central Florida and Miami, along with Amazon, according to Pulayya.
Pulayya says that word of mouth and social media buzz has helped WIPS garner more attention, most notably with a feature on the popular series Hot Ones for its Caribbean edition and placing first for the 2024 Specialty Foods Association’s Spicy International Flavor Awards.
