Opening a Hot Shop

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Dear Dave,
Is it too late to open a Hot Sauce Shop? Is this a fad or are the hot heads here to stay? How do I know what is going to move off the shelves. Could you help me pick up a good line of sauces?
Thanks,
Cynthia

Hi Dave!
When I was in San Diego a few years ago I ran across a little shop in Old Town called "A Taste of Heat" and they specialized almost exclusively in all kinds of hot sauces. I live in Portland, OR and am investigating the possibility of a similar shop/distributorship here. Any help you could give me in steering me in the right direction in evaluating and researching this possibility as who to talk to, is this really viable in this area, etc. would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Dave K.

Cynthia and Dave:
Hot heads are definitely here to stay, but increasingly they are finding fiery-foods on the Internet and in supermarkets and other more traditional locations. Typically, hot shops work best in high-traffic tourist areas. Trial and error and advice from distributors are the only ways to tell what will move off the shelves. You will need several lines of sauces. You should check out what web shops like www.peppers.com and www.firegirl.com are carrying. If you do open a brick and mortar shop, also open a web shop. It would also help if you have experience in retail business.
For more information on retailing, see:
http://www.fiery-foods.com/zine-industry/face.html

http://www.fiery-foods.com/zine-industry/recession.html

–Dave

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