Local Hot Sauce Company Heats Up The Northside Market In Fredericton
FREDERICTON — Friends Dylan Gaudet and Tyler McGrath had a simple goal – make good hot sauce and build a great brand.
Their dream came to life in Spicy Boys, a small batch hot sauce company they started last summer.
“Tyler came to me mid-Covid with two of the sauces that we have right now,” said Gaudet. “Mean Green, it’s a kiwi jalapeno sauce, and the OG, which is an orange ginger habanero sauce.”
When Gaudet tried the sauces, he was sold. The last hot sauce they added was Smoked Peach, the hottest and now most popular.
“What we do is we take real peaches, smoke them like you would a big pork butt in a real smoker,” said Gaudet. “Until they’re so soft you squeeze a peach and you’re touching this heat immediately.”
After that, they add chipotle pepper and scotch bonnet. Next, they blitz and cure the sauce for 48 hours. Unlike a Louisiana hot sauce, there is no fermenting process.
“There are a million different ways to make hot sauce and so many ways to be creative and stand out,” said Gaudet.
Another way Spicy Boys stand out is through their social media. When someone messages @spicyboysinc with a positive review, Gaudet will post it to their story.
“People maybe underestimate what level of impact that has on a small business owner and how excited it makes you to continue working and keep motivated and stay pushing forward,” said Gaudet.
Spicy Boys also started a Youtube series called “Enter The Scovillesphere,” where they go to local businesses and try out their sauces with them. In their first three pilot episodes, they’ve visited The Warehouse Barbershop in Fredericton for a haircut and some samosas and hot sauce (why not?), the Little Shemogue Oyster Company in Port Elgin and the Veg Out! food truck. More episodes are coming this summer.
“A big part of the reason that we are constantly sharing our platform and trying to collaborate with local business is that we want to create an economy in New Brunswick that is diverse and strong.”
Gaudet is tired of New Brunswick businesses not getting the attention they deserve. He believes that by partnering up, businesses have a better chance of creating a future for themselves and their children.
“Once you wake up and realize all of the amazing things that go on around here, it’s easy to shift your focus to really supporting local,” said Gaudet.
RELATED: Northside Creators Market To Open In Late March
When creating a look for the brand, Gaudet found local artists. Their bottles feature artwork by Moncton tattoo artist Zach LeBlanc. Their booth, painted by Fredericton tattoo artist Nicky Lang, can be found Saturdays and Sundays at the Northside Creator’s Market.
View this post on Instagram
“We’ve done our most impactful relationship development at the market,” said Gaudet. “Just because they are able to see our faces, chat with us about the product, get the information from the source.”
Fans of Spicy Boys have a lot to look forward to. For Pride Week this June they are releasing The Dragon Queen, a Watermellon Dragon Fruit Mint flavoured sauce.
“We just wanted to make good hot sauce and have a cool brand,” said Gaudet.
Rachel Smith is a summer intern for Huddle. Send her story suggestions: [email protected].