Heatonist Founder on Building a Niche Brand
Noah Chaimberg, founder of the hot sauce brand Heatonist, started his journey with a '600-pound custom push cart in Brooklyn' to test the market. In a recent podcast, he detailed how that grassroots validation led to becoming the #1 hot sauce on Amazon and the official partner for the hit YouTube series 'Hot Ones.'
Before launching Heatonist in 2013, founder Noah Chaimberg worked in digital marketing for clients like Uniqlo and Mercedes. He was inspired to enter the hot sauce market after noticing a craft movement focused on unique flavors, moving beyond the industry's obsession with extreme heat. The partnership with the YouTube series *Hot Ones* began in 2015, the same year Chaimberg and his COO Tyler McKusick opened their first brick-and-mortar tasting room on Wythe Avenue in Brooklyn. The show's producers contacted the shop to help curate sauces for the wing lineup, sparking the collaboration. Heatonist not only curates the sauces for each season of *Hot Ones* but also co-creates the show's official sauces, including fan favorites like Los Calientes and The Last Dab. This collaboration has resulted in over 20 unique flavors developed jointly by Heatonist and the show's parent company, First We Feast. The brand's growth has led to significant retail expansion. As of 2024, Heatonist sauces are available in over 8,000 retail stores and 30,000 distribution points, including major grocers like Kroger, Publix, and Whole Foods. Chaimberg's entrepreneurial spirit showed early; at age 15, he sold Pokémon posters on eBay. His food industry experience is also extensive, having worked in restaurant kitchens for seven years starting at age 17. Looking ahead, Chaimberg is working to establish the HEATONIST Catskills Chili Farm in Livingston Manor, NY, signaling a future move into growing their own ingredients.
