By Max Davies
A Kilmore hot sauce production company has started to find its feet on the national level, hitting the shelves of Woolworths in Sydney for a trial last month.
Established in 2020, the idea of Dexter’s Hot Sauce came to founder and Kilmore resident Jackson Calderwood in mid-2019, who started to make small batches of sauce that were taste-tested by friends.
Together with the help of business partner Mark and company mascot Dexter the dog, the company has grown from a small hot sauce provider in Kilmore to one that is sold online, and at retail locations and eateries in the area.
The company has now gone from making batches of about 12 bottles to making batches of upwards of 1000 bottles, with new flavours of both sauce and seasoning also being prepared for release.
Mr Calderwood said Dexter’s Hot Sauce had been supplied to many businesses and had significant interest.
“We were trying to do things based around chili shows, so we attended some chili festivals and sold out,” he said.
“We starting supplying businesses in the area and sold out very quickly, so we supplied them again with double the stock and it sold out again.”
Mr Calderwood said the aim for the company this year was to manage its growth and expand its range.
“The goal for this year is to finish scaling up to be able to get greater volume to customers,” he said.
“There have been a few new products that I’ve been wanting to put out, like we’re looking at a hot honey which is a chilli-infused honey.
We’ve also been doing seasonal sauce for Halloween and Christmas and we’re looking at doing more.
“The results from the Woolworths trial should be coming in soon, so we should be able to see where we’re at and go from there.”
To view the range of Dexter’s Hot Sauce products and for more information, visit dextershotsauce.com.au.