Meet John McClellan of ATX Hot Sauce

Today we’d like to introduce you to John McClellan.

Hi John, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I own a successful mortgage bank called Supreme Lending. I have a passion for numbers and interacting with people, so running Supreme and helping our clients secure financing on their homes has been a very rewarding career but I was ready for another challenge.

I’ve always had a love of cooking – it’s something I’m very passionate about. I remember growing up having fond memories of meals with my family. My grandparents used to cook meals for us, then before you know it you are cooking meals for your children. I feel that the time you spend around a table with your family is precious, the conversation, the food, the memories. Food brings people together and I love to share my passion of food with my friends and family.

I initially worked in the restaurant business 25 years ago, that’s when I started to experiment with new flavors and recipes. I always enjoyed making my own salsas and hot sauces and I would often make large batches and bottle them up for friends and family. I received a lot of positive feedback and encouragement which made me want to share them with more people. So around 18 months ago, I created my first hot sauce for ATX Hot Sauce.

It’s been a real project of love and hard work. I work long hours at the office, so I’m often making and bottling hot sauces in the evenings and at weekends but I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m doing something that I’m passionate about and for that, I feel very lucky.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Starting any company takes a lot of time and investment, but if you have a passion for what you’re doing it motivates you to keep going. Running two businesses has been hard these past 18 months. I’m often working late nights and weekends as I want to ensure that both businesses have my full attention.

As individuals, we are always learning and this new business has been no exception. It’s been 25 years since I’ve worked in the restaurant business so it’s taken a lot of time and research to look into the certifications and licenses that we require to operate a company that sells food products – but I’m glad that I persevered.

As you know, we’re big fans of ATX Hot Sauce. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
ATX Hot Sauce is an artisan hot sauce that is hand bottled right here in Austin. We started with one flavor 18 months ago and we now have 8-10 different flavors at any one time.

You are probably wondering why I decided to make hot sauces. I was tired of seeing the same mass-produced bottles of vinegar-based sauces on the shelves of local grocery stores. The vinegar in these products provides a longer shelf life but it means that you lose a lot of the flavor of the ingredients as they are essentially ‘extended’ for mass production. After a lot of research into the process of using fermentation, I started creating my own hot sauces. Fermenting the ingredients meant that I got the acidity I needed without compromising on the flavor by the use of added vinegar – plus it really brings out the profiles of each ingredient and gives our hot sauces a more complex, tangy flavor. My priority has and always will be flavor first and heat second.

ATX Hot Sauce has now sold into all 50 states via our online store and sales are growing monthly. We have some retailers here in Austin that stock our hot sauce and a few out of state stores too. I have also created a YouTube channel to share some of my favorite recipes and we are currently close to 5,000 subscribers which is amazing.

We offer our hot sauce by the bottle, on a subscription basis or in gift boxes and we are very excited about the launch of a new salsa and BBQ sauce range that is due to be released later this year.

How do you think about happiness?
I love to see people enjoy my food. When we have positive reviews on our website and repeat customers buying our hot sauce that makes me happy.

Pricing:

• Our hot sauces range in price from $9-$12 a bottle.
• We would like to offer Voyage readers a 20% discount on our products, please enter the code VOYAGE20 at checkout.

Contact Info:

• Email: johnm@atxhotsauce.com
• Website: https://atxhotsauce.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atx_hotsauce/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ATXHotsauces/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Armie_ATX
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn2ym9M8Dugquq1WE4SHSIw

Image Credits
Jared Aja @atxvideopro