How many years have you been in business?
My Sauce originally came out in 2002 (see history), but was out of production from 2007 to 2011 due to circumstances beyond my control and Family Matters that needed my utmost full attention. I started back up again in Jan of 2012 and I am now prepared to share My Recipe Creations with one and all who will give The Man from Buffalo a chance.
How did you come to make the hot sauce?
Being in the restaurant business since 1976 and being from Buffalo, I have dabbled in the kitchen off and on all those years and learned from some of the best on what goes good with what as far as meal creations and spice combinations, and Hot Sauce and Wing Sauce was one of my favorite things to mess around with.
What makes your hot sauce different from the rest and how would you describe the taste?
My sauce has a few extra spices and ingredients that I have yet to taste or find in any other sauces that I have tried through the years. The opening kick that lets you know that it is hot sauce is followed by a tangy flavor sensation that takes your taste buds on a roller coaster flavor ride that makes them say “mmmm mmmm good, I just have to have some more!”
How many locations do you have the sauce at currently, and what are your best selling locations?
Currently my Sauce is in 15 Retail locations in and around Western New York, from supermarkets, deli’s, pizzeria’s, to novelty stores. All my sauce locations are currently doing well and the locations that do better than some are offering their customers a taste, and from that taste between 70 and 80 percent of them are buying. Currently the top 4 locations in and around Western New York in sauce sales are in Alden, Depew, Newfane and South Buffalo. You can currently find a location near you by visiting my link and BT’s “locally” pages.
Where else do you sell your hot sauce?
I am also offering my sauce for sale on my web site for out of town orders at www.buffalotoms.com and currently have around 12 other Domain name (splash pages) on the web that talk about Buffalo Tom’s and they all are linked to my main page. Anybody from Buffalo that have Family and friends living in other states can place an order on my site and request to have their order shipped anywhere across the nation. Buffalo Tom is also currently offering a Six pack special of its sauce anywhere across the nation with free shipping for the same current sale price that you can purchase it for in the stores in and around Buffalo New York for only $4.95 per bottle for 10 ounces of a sauce that is quickly gaining popularity across the nation as at least one person now has a bottle since it came back out in around 24 states.
Have you broken into the national market yet?
Currently my sauce can be found in Ft Lauderdale Florida at the Treasure Trove on their World Famous Hot Sauce Rack, stop into the Treasure Trove 1 block from the beach on SE 5th St where you can sample it any day you are there, especially on Taco Tuesday.
Also in the planning stages is for Buffalo Tom’s to be introduced to Whole Food Markets, Trader Joe’s and Publix Supermarkets which would put my Sauce into 3 top supermarket chains across I believe to be 48 states last I checked.
I have new Products in a holding pattern until I reestablish my Original Sauce in Buffalo NY and across the nation as my Original Sauce is the base to everything I make. On the shelf and ready to come out at a moment’s notice is my Bloody Mary Mix, along with 4 more flavors of sauce. An Original Spice Shaker along with Buffalo Tom’s Gourmet Flavored Brick of Cheese…. In the planning stages is Flavored Salsa’s and assorted roasted peanuts that will be coated with the spices that go into my original sauce recipe.
What’s the local competition like?
Competition is plentiful in the land of the wing and most of the sauces have a good comparable flavor and that is what I took into consideration when I was creating by recipe. I created my sauce to have a unique flavor all its own and I am sure if you give it a try you will Savor The Flavor of the Blast that lasts just like I did when I completed my recipe and first bottled it back in 2002!
What are your best events in the city?
At this time I am not participating in any events in and around Western New York. Although Buffalo is a top destination for so many great events, I feel it is not cost effective enough for me to be involved at this time with only one product. I do however have an event that I am creating on my own that will bring Buffalo into the spotlight worldwide. That event will be introduced within the next year or 2 after my other products hit the marketplace!
What’s new for the business in 2013?
In the beginning of 2013 I will be introducing my Original Sauce to restaurants and pizzeria’s by the gallon and also offering bottles to them for resale. In the spring or sooner as sales permit, my Bloody Mary Mix will be making its debut to restaurants, and retail locations in Western New York and across the nation. By late summer I would like to begin to introduce my 4 other sauce flavors into the mix and have all of them out by Christmas 2013 and available in a 5 pack display in stores and on my website. If all that happens for me in 2013, it will be quite the year indeed.