About this user
If you're wondering how Hot Squeeze came to be, you'll want to know the story of Sue . . .
Before Hot Squeeze, I was a caterer. I began catering when my children were babies as a way to be a stay-at-home mom. My husband, who at that time worked for CNN, hired me for my first film production catering job. The business grew and grew and by the time my children were teenagers, I had taken on a business partner, renovated a commercial kitchen in our home and was working full time catering film production lunches.
Hot Squeeze began innocently enough as a sauce over a pork tenderloin served at one of those lunches. It was a big hit, and so it was used on and in other dishes, and soon it had to be available at every lunch I served. For years clients told me I should bottle the sauce, and for years I would look at them like they were crazy — I was busy enough running a catering company and I had no clue how to bottle a sauce.
I am a workout-aholic and my spin class instructor always asks that we share our New Year's resolutions. In 2006, I told my class that I was finally going to get Hot Squeeze into a bottle. It took me 10 months to actually do this! I asked a lot of questions, researched everything, and then took a leap of faith, but in October of 2006 the first run of 500 cases of Hot Squeeze was produced. (I felt a little like Lucy in the candy factory when I saw those first bottles come off the assembly line!)
Being a food entrepreneur is not always easy. in the first two and a half years that Hot Squeeze has been on the market, I have invested my money and all of my time, lost a business partner, and given up my lucrative catering business. On the flip side, I'm having the time of my life! I am doing something that I am passionate about, I learn new things every day, I have met and continue to meet amazing people as I travel doing food shows, demos and consumer markets, and I am rewarded by people who discover Hot Squeeze and tell me they can't live without it.
I also want to tell you that I am amazingly lucky to have a wonderful and supportive family. My husband puts in many hours on mundane Hot Squeeze tasks even though he has his own job, and our two children hardly ever complain when they have to work in the warehouse. I have an incredibly talented advisory board who willingly donate their time and expertise. And I have incredible friends who hold my hand when I'm discouraged and cheer for me every step of the way.
Country
United States
Occupation
entrepreneur
Companies
Hot Squeeze
TheHotSqueeze
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