Feel the Burn

Peruse the many brands of hot sauce available in the U.S. and you’ll find a collection of raucous names alluding to the potency of the sauce inside the bottle.

Many names gleefully defy the safe and staid conventions of packaged goods, referring not to taste or convenience, but rather the violent effect the sauce will supposedly have on the customer’s rectum.

Sphincter Shrinker. Toxic Waste Extract. Weapons of Ass Destruction. Weed Killer. Colon Cleaner. Sir Fartalot.

A name with impact helps a brand stand out in a crowded field. But because it’s relatively easy to create and bottle a hot sauce, many small companies all over the U.S. have jumped into the market, and the branding in this category has become an arms race as each producer attempts to create a punchier name than the last guy.

The butt jokes may not be your cup of tabasco, but being offensively funny is one way to be noticed and remembered.

Those of us in other industries can be grateful that our brands don’t have to compete in such a rumpus.

Here’s a story on the naming of two hot sauce brands, including the domestic violence-tinged “Slam Ya Mama.”