Some like it hot! Waitrose report 55 per cent rise in hot sauce sales while Ed Sheeran joins Alice Cooper and other celebs in releasing their own brands as spicy condiments take over Britain

Temperatures may be going down, but heat is definitely on the rise throughout Britain, with hot sauce swiftly becoming one of the UK’s favourite condiments.

The traditional British aversion to spicy food appears to be giving way, with sales for hot sauces such as sriracha and chilli sauce nearly doubling in the past year.

According to Waitrose, sales of hot sauces are up 55 per cent year on year. This is due largely in part, they say, to the rise in popularity of YouTube shows like ‘Hot Ones’, where interviews are conducted with celebrities like Louis Theroux and Cardi B, as they tuck into a plate of spicy chicken wings with increasing levels of heat.

The Mexican brand Cholula is a bestseller, while sales of tangy sriracha, which is a staple in Thai food, are up 22 per cent, figures from the 2023 Waitrose Food and Drink report suggest. 

But it is not just big-brand labels that are on the rise, with a host of celebrities now launching their own hot sauce brands. 

According to Waitrose, sales of hot sauces are up 55% year on year. Cholula, a Mexican brand of hot sauce, (pictured) is a best seller

But it is not just big-brand labels that are on the rise, with a host of celebrities now launching their own hot sauce brands (Ed Sheeran pictured with his own venture Tingly Ted’s)

The rise in popularity of YouTube shows like ‘Hot Ones’ has helped boost sales (Louis Theroux pictured on the show)

Tingly Ted’s is Ed Sheeran’s latest non-music-related venture. The singer worked with Kraft Heinz to develop the condiment, which currently offers two variety of sauce: Tingly and Extra Tingly.

His goal, according to a video he released on Instagram, was to come up with a sauce that resembled ketchup in its consistency and that could be used on anything.

Both sauce varieties are made with ingredients like vinegar, tomato paste, and lemon pulp, but the Xtra Tingly version contains 39 per cent jalapeño while the Tingly bottle has 16 per cent. 

The Shape of You singer has long spoken about his love for the spicy condiment, and has even admitted to carrying bottles of hot sauce with him when he travels to spice up his food. 

Rock stars like Alice Cooper, Michael Anthony (aka Mad Anthony), Guns N’ Roses guitarist Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal and Aerosmith’s lead guitarist Joe Perry also have their own brands of the sauce.

The boom in popularity is also attributed to Britons enjoying a wider range of cuisines and also those looking to jump-start their tastebuds after losing senses to Covid.

According to Neil Ridley, author of ‘Hot Sauce: A Fiery Guide to 101 of the world’s Best Sauces’, the pandemic limited our physical capacity to travel and explore international cuisine, and so we looked to broaden our kitchen cabinets with more exotic ingredients and spice.

He told MailOnline: ‘There’s also never been a better time to explore hot sauce: it feels like the growth of the craft beer movement many years ago, where local saucerers are really experimenting with unusual ingredients to compliment the peppers. 

‘There’s also a naturally driven high from trying spices and hot sauce, which a lot of people are really exploring. 

‘Our bodies produce endorphins and adrenaline to counteract the capsaicin in the peppers, which gives you a euphoric feeling afterwards.’

Rock stars like Alice Cooper, Guns N’ Roses guitarist Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal and Aerosmith’s lead guitarist Joe Perry (pictured left) also have their own brands of the sauce

The boom in popularity is also attributed to Britons enjoying a wider range of cuisines

Ed Sheeran worked with Kraft Heinz to develop Tingly Ted’s, which currently offers two variety of sauce: Tingly and Extra Tingly

It hits different 😏🔥 @truffhotsauce #peterspasta #oddlysatisfying #pasta #hotsauce #tiktokchef #eggs #pittsburgh #HomeCooking #WaitForTheGreats#fyp

The chilli market is now worth more than £1.23 billion annually and is expected to grow to £1.6 billion by 2028, according to analysis by Mordor Intelligence.

It is also believed that 7 per cent of Generation Z will have chilli sauce with their Christmas dinner this year, according to a Tesco report that was released earlier in the year. 

Eating chilli and spicy foods is also thought to have health benefits, as the compound in peppers – capsaicin – is believed to reduce some risk factors for heart disease and cancer, according to as a 2020 survey of more 500,000 people conducted by the American Heart Association. 

Martyn Lee, executive chef for Waitrose told The Telegraph: ‘Tolerance of hot spice is increasing among younger people who are eating it from an increasingly early age due to global cuisines being more widely available in the UK.’

The chef explained that due to some Covid sufferers losing their sense of taste when they were infected, many consumers are choosing stronger flavours.

He said: ‘Some people whose sense of taste was affected by Covid are now more drawn to hot foods because they can taste this intense flavour.’

Waitrose now stocks more than 20 different hot sauces ranging from mild chipotle to a habanero sauce with a rating of 30,000-50,000 heat units on the Scoville scale, which measures chilli heat. 

While Europe is the fastest growing region for chillies and hot sauce, young people in the US have also leapt on the trend.

A teenager from the US died after trying a viral challenge where he ate one tortilla chip flavoured with Naga Viper and Carolina Reaper peppers – some of the hottest chillies in the world. 

Snack company Paqui pulled the product dubbed from shelves after the incident. 

The popular YouTube programme Hot Ones, which launched in 2015, has featured British celebrities including Louis Theroux, James Corden and footballer Harry Kane, as well as Oxford-born actress Florence Pugh.

The YouTube chat show has got over 385m views on TikTok so far this year.

Tom Holland on popular YouTube programme Hot Ones, which launched in 2015

Waitrose said it has seen a spike of more than half in sales of hot sauce amid a rise in popularity. Pictured: Sriracha sauce, popular in southeast-Asian cuisine 

Calling this one the pits of pepper 🫑🔥👺 #fyp

Meanwhile, videos with the hashtag ‘hot sauce’ have over 2.7 billion views on TikTok. ‘#Sriracha’ has over 550 million views. 

Ben Uraszewski, the co-founder of hot sauce delivery company Bauce Brothers, said they saw membership numbers skyrocket by 120 per cent during the pandemic. 

He added that the younger generation seemed to be more experimental with new food, which he believes has been encouraged by social media. 

‘Millennials in general are just more creative with food. I think honestly it’s not just social media – you log into a food app and you’ve got about 500 restaurants with all different cuisines,’ Mr Uraszewski said. 

This comes as more than half of Brits have tried more than three new dishes or cuisines for the first time in the last 12 months, according to data obtained by Deliveroo.

Exposure to new foods has also shifted traditions, analysis found that Londoners were more likely order bowl foods such as Poke, salad or burrito bowls (51 per cent) for a takeaway lunch than the classic sandwich (37 per cent). 

The delivery company also found that whilst ketchup remained the sauce of choice for many, mayonnaise had been knocked off its pedestal by garlic mayo. 

The research was carried out by 3Gem, who surveyed a representative sample of 2,000 UK adults in October. 

Deliveroo Vice President of Regional Growth, Jeff Wemyss, said: ‘We’re delighted to see customers sampling – and enjoying – the wealth of food on their doorsteps.’

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