Heatonist Founder on Building a Brand
Heatonist founder Noah Chaimberg, who went from a pushcart to the #1 hot sauce on Amazon, says his success came from focusing on culture and community. In a podcast interview, he argued that “great brands aren’t just discovered; they’re built—one customer, one conversation at a time,” crediting his alignment with the show *Hot Ones* for taking the brand mainstream.
Before launching Heatonist, founder Noah Chaimberg had a background in digital marketing and had run a healthy breakfast counter in Montreal. His frustration with buying hot sauces online only to be disappointed by the flavor led to the central idea for his new business: a place where customers could try sauces before they buy. The business began in 2013 with a pushcart at various pop-up markets around Brooklyn, where Chaimberg would offer guided tastings. This focus on a curated collection of small-batch, all-natural sauces prioritized flavor over just extreme heat, a departure from much of the industry at the time. In 2015, Heatonist opened its first brick-and-mortar tasting room on Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. That same year, the company was approached by the YouTube series *Hot Ones* to curate the lineup of sauces for the show, a partnership that proved pivotal for the brand's growth. Beyond just curating, Heatonist collaborates with *Hot Ones* to create exclusive sauces for the show, including the infamous "The Last Dab." This sauce has featured various record-breaking peppers from grower Smokin' Ed Currie, such as the Carolina Reaper and Pepper X. Today, Heatonist operates multiple retail locations, including an outpost in Manhattan's Chelsea Market, and ships sauces worldwide.
