HOUSTON – The 7th Annual Houston Hot Sauce Festival, presented by Miller Lite, will heat up Houston, TX September 16 & 17, 2006. Exhibitor registration info is now available at www.houstonhotsauce.com. Online and printable versions are available to book a space (just click on the green vendor info button from the main page).
Announcing a highly requested, hot, limited addition, collector’s item. We have the 2006 Houston Hot Sauce Festival Custom All-Over Design Camp Shirt (Hawaiian Style Shirt) in the works. This is for participating vendors with booths only – you must be registered. Our 2006 shirt will have exhibitor products featured.
For more information on the Houston Hot Sauce Festival and the Stehlin Foundation visit the websites at www.houstonhotsauce.com and www.stehlin.org.
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From its founding in 1969, the Stehlin Foundation for Cancer Research has made human cancer the single focus of investigations conducted in its research laboratory. The team of Ph.D.s, research technicians and other laboratory staff limit investigations to areas that can be applied directly to improving the treatment of patients with cancer. In this, the Stehlin Foundation is unique among cancer research facilities in the United States.
42 responses to “Hot Exhibitor’s!”
Hey Nick, you trying to rival Oprah here?
Can you say Nick Lindauer’s Book Club???
just bustin’ my friend, just bustin’ 🙂
[Comment ID #26305 Quote]
Sorry, this is in the wrong spot. I need an eraser…. 😉
Will I be at the Houston Hot Sauce Festival? Oh yes….yes, I will. 🙂 lol
Question for the Sauce Makers (CaJohn, Danny Cash etc) who have participated in this event before:
Is it worth staying an extra week in Texas after the Zest Fest to man a booth at this venue?
We are seriously considering it but we wanted your take on it before we commit
It is a VERY FUN event. Carol is one of the most vendor-friendly promotors I have ever worked with. We have had outstanding years there and some break-even ones. This will be our 6th year. We are doing both again this year. Jim Campbell is also doing both as well as Dude (Chip of Old Pueblo Distributing). Jim says I put a curse on events when I recommend them, so I am just stating our experience. Danny’s first year was last year, so it will be interesting to see his input.
The people are great, and they LOVE hot sauce in Houston!!! The hotter, the better!!!
Carol has informed me that she will be offering a special “Collectors Zone” for those who are interested. I think she has contacted Nick about this, so we’ll just have to wait for word on it.
Cooooooolllll! Now do I stay a week after Zest Fest to go to this as well????HMMMMMMmmm.
Thanks for the input CaJohn. Sounds like a fun time. We will have to sent the 15 year old home on a plane after Zest Fest (he can’t miss that much school or Football) but Hubby and I will go do the Houston event.
Thanks again
We did pretty well at that event last year. Carol is a very nice lady as well. However, being a smaller shop it’s hard for us to have 2 people in Texas for half a month seeing as how we only have 3 full time guys. Break even is good, but then when you look at how much money you COULD have made by staying home 12-14 days is a long time to be away. So as of right now we will be in Ft. Worth but regretfully not Houston unless plans change.
Oh yeah, if you go to Houston make sure you visit Matt Potter at Dave’s Pepper Palace. His ‘Head Rush’ hot sauce is the bomb! http://www.davespepperpalace.com/
I’m blushing… I’m not really that nice! Hope everyone can make it. We have great fun and the people in Houston do love it HOT! I’m a bit partial – The Fest is great. But, it’s not just the fest itself, it’s the camaraderie and all the after parties and after after parties too!!!!
(Danny I hope you change your mind – I’ll even throw in another thing of red hair gel!!!! lol)
[Comment ID #26585 Quote]
Carol, we didn’t say you were nice! We said you were vendor friendly!!!
You really should get someone to make that Annual Festival Sauce who knows what their doing!!!
Houston is fun. It is more of a retail crowd vs a big box buyer crowd. Carol does more for the vendors then ANY other promoter by far! They really make you feel appreciated. Sales for me are okay, but certainly not record breaking. The main draw back is the venue which is humid, hot, humid, hot, and dusty, dusty, dusty. The booth fee is more than reasonable. It is a show that I intend to do as long as I’m around.
Jim, It’s just hotter near your booth because of your super hot product Stupid Hot, aka UnBearable, in your booth. 3 time winner of the People’s Choice “Hottest Hot Sauce at the Festival.” I’m hearing more rumors that your up for some competition… Including CaJohn again. Didn’t you guys “hurt” a kid last year with a double whallop – some Stupid Hot followed with a sample of Black Mamba? It was priceless.
Keep ’em coming – Houston loves it the hotter the better.
The people in Houston are just hot sauce CRAZY! They don’t know the meaning of HOT!
I’m going to withdraw from that category- I can’t have John mad at me anymore for winning 🙂 [Comment ID #26960 Quote]
I think it’s a given they don’t know what ‘hot’ is after seeing me in my booth 😉
You’d think that after 300+ major awards, John wouldn’t mind seeing someone else have a crumb every now an then 😛
Welcome Carol!!!! I’ve heard a lot about you. Hopefully I can make Houston this year. Provided we don’t have another Katrina 🙁
MSK,
Sent you an email.
[Comment ID #27014 Quote]
Jim, all I’m searching for is the TRUTH!!! I know how hot both are. You are by FAR the crowd favorite!!! I even vote for you after all you go through in FULL TURNOUT GEAR & AN AIR PACK in 100+ degree and 100% humidity conditions!!! Then he has the audacity to jog in place in his booth!!! The man AIN’T RIGHT!!! You deserve that for your efforts. Not to mention PNEFDS… 🙂
Okay, I give up. I thought I knew most of the abbreviations. PNEFDS??
[Comment ID #27029 Quote]
I KNOW you know this one Jim…;)
Don’t make fun of Jim… he comes to town early and helps with set up. Jogging through the arena with tables, chairs, and such (it is annoying though).
MSK – no email from you…? I hear a lot about you too. I hope you can make it. No hurricane’s thank you!
You’ll have to tell me some time.
Gotta go now. Time to beat on kids 🙂
[Comment ID #27036 Quote]
Whose?
[Comment ID #27041 Quote]
hopefully mine 😀
just kidding
Man are you all making it hard for me to decide rather to stay for both shows or not, if I do, the wife will kill me. However if I don’t I might kill myself for not coming, what to do, what to do.
Beating on my cousins’ kids- that’s who I’m out here visiting in Mission Viejo. More like they’re beating on me 🙂
If I were forced to choose between shows Cheffy, Ft Worth looks like it will be better attended by the bloggers and big boys, Houston is probably the better party show. Sounds like you’re dead either way so you might as well live fast 😉
The Hot Sauce/Fiery Foods booths at Houston are limited to a certain amount. We vendors love it because we get a bigger piece of the pie that way. There will many more exhibitors at Ft Worth so it’s a choice of quantity of things to see/taste/buy. Several of the vendors are doing both shows. You wouldn’t be disappointed if you stayed, Houston is a GREAT time!!!
Hard choices. I’ve heard raves about Ft. Worth. The big difference is conference center shows are trade shows. The Zest Fest is indoors. Lots and Lots of great booths and some extras – I hear a lot of trade buyers…? yes…? (I make no promises in this area. I always here about a few being around.) I try to go North for the show if I can – It’s tuff with our festival a week later. The Houston Hot Sauce Festival is for the curnumers. about 60% of the booths are Hot and Fiery Foods. We then fill up with Misc.Retail/Ars and Crafts (Pepper stuff) and Food Concessions (Our Crawfish Sausage guy being super popular). Ongoing bands on the Stage, Zydeco, Blues, Rock, Oldies… A Free Children’s area – giving the kiddies something to do while mom and dad sample great products. Then there’s always the samples at all the Hot Booths, beer, sample more, beer, shmooz some stores, beer, sample more… eat some food, check out a band, samples, then guess what… we even have coke and water too.
After this the Vendor Bender’s starts…
September seems much closer all of a sudden.
The Three Hot Tamales are looking forward to Zest Fest, just so we can see all you guys again 🙂 Cajohn….(wink wink) 🙂
The Houston show does rock……Free Vendor Beer and munchies ….and the crowds are always fun. The Heat sucks but after 4 or 20 trips to Vendor Room you don’t mind so much. I am going back and this will be my third trip here.
Carol is kinda friendly..but does not like taxi cab drivers
DUDE! Where you been, old man?
Been swamped amigo!..You guys are not going to Houston?..wazzup with that..I know place you can park your RV close to th Guadalupe River..Hey! you will be livin in your RV down by the river!
Not unless things change. Would love to but DC needs the manpower at home. We’re not quitting it, only skipping it this year.
You guys sound swamped too..Who are some of your new accounts? Did you get anything big in NM this year? It’s fun to here from guys that are the same size as we are..NOT CaJOHN holder of 3 KAJILLION accounts..he’s earned them though
I don’t know that we’re as big as you yet, Dude. We are swamped with Pepperman in the kitchen, Danny designing labels for new customers, and my Dad out pounding the pavement as our full-time salesman. We do so much private label for so many restaurants it keeps us busy. After 2 years of work we are about to wrap up our biggest private label deal yet which I will be able to discuss soon. We landed the Heidi’s Brooklyn Deli franchise chain last summer when they only had 10 locations and now they’ve sold over 100 and our hot sauces are mandatory in every store. We also work locally on a ‘Colorado Gourmet’ label series which we market here in a couple chains of Colorado grocery stores by doing tastings and working festivals like The Taste of Colorado which brings in 500,000 people. That’s what’s been keeping us busy lately. How’s PBR going for you guys? Did Cabela’s ever get off their ass?
[Comment ID #27597 Quote]
Eating government cheese and hot sauce!
Cabelas has really calmed down and hell we may not even be in there. We showed them the private label stuff and they got a huge company to start packing for them. I think that hurt our sales there. Our biggest areas are still hotels and airports with AAFES starting this week. I am designing labels for the Marines, Air Force, Army and Navy..Pretty cool names too. I started a label called Canny Dash Suckatash that sells well in Co! : ) Glad to hear you guys are busy, it takes a long time to shore those accounts up but sounds like we are growing the same way. That Label machine really opened doors and it sounds like it did for you too. If you ever need any tips i may be able to help. I am still a rookie but have learned a lot! I think to date i have about 110 labels out there and new ones coming daily..I will be in the Colorado hotels soon and maybe we can do aomething together. That way it would cost them shipping!
That sounds good, man. Would love to work with you guys. I haven’t seen any Canny Dash Suckatash around here, but I don’t visit many whorehouses and crack dens…..
I have seen some Chipilicky, though.
Blaaaahahahaha!!! You guys crack me up! 🙂
it’s not the driver’s! it’s the cab’s driving through the arena picking up the drunks…
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Never too soon.. wink, wink?