Heat Wave

Hot sauces have been one of the most licenseable property types in the food-to-food licensing space for some time, and there continues to be a steady flow of new collaborations and licensing deals, as well as new brands entering the business. This has led to an ever more diverse range of spicy flavor profiles and product extensions. 

A number of factors are driving the popularity of hot sauces, and the licensed products associated with them. Young adults love spicy flavors, as do many immigrant and ethnic communities, who have brought their versions of hot sauce into the mainstream. The product’s versatility is also a factor, with any number of food categories making sense for collaborations. More recently, the rise of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have boosted interest in hot sauces; patients are consuming less but are looking for more flavor in what they do eat, as the drugs tend to make many foods taste bland. Brands like Tapatío have reported increased sales because of this trend.  

Here are some initiatives involving hot sauces extending into other food categories, with the deals taking place since we last covered this topic in December 2023: 

• McCormick’s Cholula has paired recently with Huer Foods for Chamoy Tropical Ring Mix gummy candy, Xochitl for spicy snacks (marking Xochitl’s first collaboration), Sargento for Cholula-branded shredded cheese, Taco Cabana for a Cholula Rita cocktail, Burger King for a limited-time ice cream dessert, and Whataburger for a spicy ketchup. 
• McIlhenny’s Tabasco brand’s 2026 partners have included Old El Paso for flavored taco shells and a seasoning mix, Absolut for flavored vodka, and Pizza Hut for a spicy pizza, while previous efforts have included spicy popcorn with global movie theater chain Planet Cinema, menu items in South Korea with E-Land Eats’ seafood restaurant Ashley Queens, Tabasco-infused cupcakes with Baked by Melissa, and spicy ranch dressing with Marzetti. 
• Tapatío, purchased by private equity company Highlander Partners in January 2026, has announced deals this year with partners including Genius Gourmet for protein puffs in two flavors and Morehouse Foods for spicy mustard. Earlier collaborators have include Myprotein for a limited protein flavor, among many others.
• Mexico-headquartered chile-lime sauce brand Tajín has boosted its collaboration activity since 2025, pairing with Fresh Gourmet for seasoned croutons and salad toppings, Taco Bell for specialty tacos, Wholly Guacamole for flavored refrigerated guacamole, and Edible Arrangements for bouquets of spiced fresh fruit (a collaboration that got its start as an April Fool’s Day joke). 
• Collaborations this year for McCormick’s Frank’s Red Hot have included McDonald’s Canada for limited-time menu items, Chicken of the Sea for flavored tuna packets, and Ginsters for savory pastries in the U.K. Prior to 2026, initiatives included spicy gummy bears with Huer Foods, crispy-chicken menu items with Taco Bell, high-protein snacks from Pure Protein, a limited-edition McCrispy burger at McDonald’s Australia, and savory snacks with Jacob’s in the U.K.
• Mega Alimentos’ Mega Chamoy, which was a first-time exhibitor at Licensing Expo this year, has forged recent partnerships with the likes of Van Holton’s for packs of flavored pickles and Sour Punch for Spicy Watermelon Straws candy. 
• Flying Goose, a Thailand-based brand of sriracha sauce, paired in January with Heck! Foods for a limited-edition chicken-and-sriracha sausage, and last year with Sneak for powdered and canned ready-to-drink protein beverages. Both partner brands are based in the U.K. 
• Fly by Jing, a Los Angeles-headquartered, Chengdu, China-manufactured Sichuan chili crisp, has been an active collaborator in the last couple of years, partnering with Fishwife for smoked salmon, Firehook for crackers, Jeni’s for a frozen dessert, and Hissho Sushi for a limited chili crisp California roll, for example. It has also paired with influencers for food items, including with Frankie Gaw (Little Fat Boy) for chili crisp ketchup and Logan Moffitt (The Cucumber Guy) for hot pot base broth and a mini electric hot pot. 
• Mike’s Hot Honey — not chili pepper-based but, as a sweet and spicy (“swicy”) option can be considered a hot sauce nonetheless — is a frequent partner in collaborations. Recent examples include Pillsbury for a new flavor of Grands! biscuit, Snak Club for Mike’s Hot Honey Bombs candy, Tillamook Country Smoker for jerky, Smithfield Foods for bacon, and Blue Diamond for almonds. The brand also has had a range of food-service partners, including Imo’s Pizza, Red Robin, Ziggi’s Coffee, Taco Bell, Sbarro, 7 Eleven, and Papa Murphy’s, all of which have developed collaborative menu items. 

This list is not comprehensive, offering just a sampling of both recent agreements and hot sauce brands involved in licensing. But it gives an idea of the scope of the sector. 

It should also be noted that, while food-to-food agreements form the foundation of collaborations in the outbound hot sauce licensing space, non-foods partnerships also occasionally pop up. Examples include Cholula’s collaboration with La Familia by Uprisers for a five-piece apparel and accessories capsule, and Tabasco’s and Tajín’s beauty collaborations with Sephora and Rare Beauty, respectively. 

Meanwhile, some hot sauce-adjacent brands have also been partnering for food products in similar ways to the core hot sauce IPs. Pepsi’s Flamin’ Hot snack brand, for instance, has paired with the likes of Kroger, Taco Cabana, and 7-Eleven’s Laredo Taco Company, while Hot Ones, the YouTube-based spicy chicken wing tasting/celebrity talk show, has worked with Jack in the Box, among others.  

Plenty of hot sauce brands were observed at this year’s Licensing Expo. Check out the other trends spotted at the show in our recently posted wrap-up.

RaugustReports has experienced a short hiatus for technical upgrades. With a new host and several back-end changes completed (and a few more left to go), we should be back to our regular Monday and Thursday posts now. Happy July 4th holiday to our U.S. readers!