Oprah's Favourite Hot Sauce 🔥

Author

Finlay Williams
July 19, 2024

5 minute wacky businesses, you can tell your buddies about 🧠

Truff Hot Sauce is a luxury hot sauce brand, currently generating $50M+ in revenue and named as one of Oprah's favorite things in 2023! Truff has an interesting orgin story, so let’s dig in 👇

All brand no product? 🧐

Founded by Nick Guillen and Nick Ajluni in 2017, Truff isn't your typical hot sauce. They started with a simple idea: combine the world's finest truffle oil with a delicious chili blend. Now, Truff generates over $50 million annually. That’s a lot of hot sauce!

TRUFF started as @sauce on Instagram where the duo would post amazing food and pop culture content. Suddenly, it took off with a cult-like audience. Once they built that following, they decided to create an upscale, lifestyle hot sauce.

Guillen and Ajluni had built the following before the product, they saw a gap by having hands-on interactions with their target demographic and then went on to fill that gap.

What are the nuggets? 💎

🔥 Instagram First, Sauce Second: Forget traditional marketing. Nick & Nick leveraged Instagram like pros, teasing their audience with luxurious shots of truffle-infused hot sauce drizzling over gourmet dishes. Their Instagram page became a drool-worthy feed, bringing the foodies and influencers right to their feet.

🔥 Influencer Magic: Remember that Super Bowl ad? Nope, because they didn't need one. Instead, they sent personalized PR packages to celebrities and social media influencers, sparking organic buzz. Oprah even named Truff one of her favourite things!

🔥 Smart Collabs: Truff collaborated with brands like Taco Bell, releasing exclusive menu items. This not only expanded their audience but also legitimized their brand in the culinary world.

🔥 Premium Pricing: While most hot sauces sell for a few bucks, Truff positioned itself as a premium product, retailing for $17.99 a bottle. They made hot sauce feel luxurious, like caviar for your fries.

🔥 Customer Obsession: From fast shipping to sleek packaging, every customer touchpoint is meticulously crafted. Their online reviews are through the roof, boasting thousands of 5-star ratings.

Sexy hot sauce shot

Figures laid out 💵

🔥 Founded: 2017

🔥 Revenue: $50 million+

🔥 Strategy: Instagram, Influencers, Brand Collabs, exclusivity

🔥 Pricing: $17.99 per bottle

🔥 Fun Fact: In 2023 Truff scored an investment from Kim Kardashian’s PE firm

The two Nicks

What’s the cherry on top? 🍒

What’s the cherry on top? Truff’s ability to stay relevant. They keep their audience hooked with limited edition flavors and seasonal releases. The result? An ever-growing fanbase and a hot sauce that flies off the shelves.

My personal thoughts 💭

Truff strikes me as more of a lifestyle brand than anything else. I’m sure the sauce is great, but their real success appears to have stemmed from creating a product with a “sexy Hollywood celebrity” vibe.

The two Nicks have done a great job at finding a gap in the market and filling it, but they’ve done an even better job at creating a brand that attracts sexy people. The flywheel grew from there…

That’s pretty awesome in my eyes.

See ya tomorrow folks! 👋
Fin

P.S. If you're crushing it with your own unconventional empire, hit me up! I'm always looking for inspiring stories to share.

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