The Bizarre World of Hot Sauce Label Designs

From death-themed cartoons to sexual innuendos, these are out favorites labels from the ’16 NYC Hot Sauce Expo.

By Bryan Campbell

May 12, 2016

Henry Phillips

Walking through this year’s NYC Hot Sauce Expo, two things become abundantly clear about the industry dedicated to all things chili pepper: everyone has a little penchant for pain and a big sense of humor. Despite the slightly masochistic undertones of an event where you’re purposely putting your mouth in pain’s way, most of the vendors have an affinity for the culinary arts and a fine sense of hospitality, more than eager to show you how their sauce can enhance a dish. From the amicable silver-haired lady selling Dirty Dick’s by the box to the rockabilly dude handing out samples of sauce with dark demonic figures on the label, it’s safe to say a broad spectrum of the population is represented.

Much like how the craft beer industry evolved over time, so too grows the hot sauce industry. Small-time chili-heads are eschewing the mainstream in favor of their own mouth-slaying concoctions; they’re just experimenting with spices and chilis instead of hops and barley. The purveyors in attendance at this year’s NYC Hot Sauce Expo have come from all over the country, with a few companies even shipping their sauces from Africa, Germany, New Zealand and South America.

And like craft brewers, sauce makers get just as creative with the outside of the bottle as they do with what’s inside the bottle, enlisting graphic designers, tattoo artists and amateur sketch artists to enliven the label. The creative artwork can give you an idea of how serious the sauce is or provide glimpse into the character behind the sauce. From the Grim Reapers and Lovecraft characters to cartoonish Días de los Muertos themes and innuendos, these are the labels that caught our eye at the 2016 NYC Hot Sauce Expo.