We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Andrew Whiting. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Andrew below.

Andrew, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Hot Drops began as a holiday gift — and turned into a mission.

In 2020, like a lot of people, I found myself stuck at home during the pandemic. To lift spirits, I planted a garden with my father in March 2020. By September, it became clear we’d over planted on the pepper front (Jalapeno, Fresno & Poblano.) Consuming 30+ lbs of peppers is rather intimidating. After looking up preservation processes I decided to start fermenting the peppers with the intent of making hot sauces and giving them to friends and family as holiday gifts. I never expected what happened next: people loved them. Not just “this is good” — but “how can I get more?” One friend offered to pay $500 to pre-order 5 cases to give away, and with my careers in CPG sales, I saw the sign and dove in.

That response lit a fire. I’ve always been obsessed with flavor, and I started to realize something: most hot sauces prioritize heat over taste. I wanted to flip that. I started experimenting with lacto-fermentation — a traditional, gut-friendly process that unlocks complex, nuanced flavor. No vinegar burn. No artificial anything. Just real, whole ingredients and fermentation doing the heavy lifting.

That’s when it clicked, this wasn’t just a pandemic project. It was a real opportunity.

The problem? The hot sauce aisle was crowded — but also narrow. It was all the same: macho branding, spice for spice’s sake, and zero regard for flavor or gut health. I knew there was space for something better — something modern, bright, thoughtful.

So I leaned in. I called it Hot Drops — a nod to both heat and music — and built the brand around three things:

– Flavor first
– Fermented for gut health
– Playful, premium, and made to stand out

Over time, it evolved from side hustle to something much bigger. Our zero-heat flagship, Not Sauce, unexpectedly became a best-seller — showing us that people want flavor without fire, and that we were solving a real problem: condiment fatigue.

What excited me most then — and still does — is helping people rethink what a condiment can be. Hot Drops started with a problem no one else was solving, and it grew because it delivered something people didn’t even know they were missing.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m Andrew Whiting, founder of Hot Drops, a fermented condiment brand dedicated to delivering bold flavor, clean ingredients, and functional benefits through thoughtful fermentation.

I was raised in Sonoma County, California, in a family that deeply valued food. The kind of family that talks about dinner at breakfast. Surrounded by vineyards, farms, and a community rooted in culinary appreciation, I developed an early respect for ingredients and the role food plays in bringing people together. Mealtimes were central — not just for nourishment, but for connection.

By high school, I knew I wanted to pursue a more hands-on path. I front-loaded my time to make space for the Santa Rosa Junior College culinary program, where I studied during my senior year. That early exposure to professional kitchens gave me a strong foundation in culinary technique and kitchen discipline. Throughout college, I continued working in the food industry — from back-of-house and dishwashing to front-of-house and catering. These experiences shaped both my palate and my perspective.

In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, I began fermenting sauces at home — initially as holiday gifts for friends and family. The response was immediate and enthusiastic. People wanted more. What started as a creative outlet quickly revealed a market opportunity.

I recognized a gap in the condiment space: most products were dominated by vinegar, sugar, preservatives, and heat for heat’s sake. Few prioritized depth of flavor, gut health, or clean-label ingredients. I launched Hot Drops to fill that gap — a line of fermented, flavor-forward condiments designed to elevate food and support well-being.

Our flagship product, Not Sauce, is a zero-heat sauce that delivers all the complexity of a traditional hot sauce — without the burn. It’s become a go-to for chefs, health-conscious consumers, families, and anyone looking to add vibrant flavor without compromise.

What differentiates Hot Drops:
– Fermentation-first: We use lacto-fermentation to develop natural complexity, preserve freshness, and support digestive health.
– Clean-label commitment: No added sugar, preservatives, or artificial ingredients — just real, whole foods.
– Flavor-forward approach: We focus on depth, balance, and versatility — not just intensity.
– Modern brand ethos: Bold, playful, and built to stand out in a category that often feels dated.

Hot Drops has grown from a kitchen project to a recognized brand with national exposure, including reaching the final round on Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars. That platform helped us introduce our philosophy — flavor, health, and integrity — to a wider audience.

Looking ahead, we’re developing a new line of products we believe has the potential to disrupt the condiment aisle in a meaningful way — bringing better-for-you options to everyday households. Our goal is to set a new standard in the category, where transparency, quality, and great taste go hand in hand. To accomplish this we’re bringing food education to the forefront and show how legacy condiments brands are a part of the past and Hot Drops is the future.

At its core, Hot Drops is about helping people eat better, feel better, and enjoy food more. We’re proud to be part of the shift toward smarter, more intentional condiments — and we’re just getting started.

How did you build your audience on social media?

We’ve built our audience by focusing on showing, not telling. Instead of shouting about how great our products are, we show people how to use them — through recipe videos, behind-the-scenes content, and real-life collaborations with chefs and local businesses.

Our content is grounded in utility, education, and authenticity. We create approachable recipes that demonstrate how our fermented condiments can elevate everyday meals. We also collaborate with restaurants to incorporate our products into actual menu items — sometimes reimagining a classic, other times creating something entirely new. This kind of content doesn’t just highlight the product — it shows people how to bring it into their real lives.

A major part of our mission is educating people about fermentation — not as a trend, but as a timeless, global practice. Nearly every culture has used fermentation to preserve food, build flavor, and support gut health. We aim to make that knowledge accessible and relevant to a modern audience.

Just as important, we’ve made a conscious decision to show the full picture — not just the highlight reel that social media often skews toward. That means sharing the tough moments: the missteps, the learning curves, and the realities of building a business from the ground up. Authenticity has been a core pillar of our brand since day one. We believe people connect more deeply when they see the real journey — not just the polished version.

For anyone starting out, my advice is simple:

Teach something. When people learn from you, they return.

Show the process. Don’t just sell the product — share the story.

Be real. Consistency and vulnerability are more powerful than perfection.

At its best, social media isn’t just a marketing tool — it’s a way to build trust, community, and lasting connection. That mindset has made all the difference for us.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

One of the most defining moments came when I made the decision to quit my corporate job to compete on Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars. It wasn’t an easy call — I had a stable paycheck and a clear career path — but I chose to bet on myself and my brand. I saw the show as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to introduce Hot Drops to a national audience, and I knew I’d regret not going all in.

What most people didn’t know was that this wasn’t the first leap I’d taken. Prior to that, I had already left another full-time role to try and grow Hot Drops. I gave it everything — time, money, energy — but like many early-stage entrepreneurs, I hit the point where the business needed more resources than I had. I took on a second job to fund the brand’s growth, working full-time while managing production, fulfillment, marketing, and everything in between. It was exhausting, but I kept going because I believed in what I was building.

After the show aired and momentum picked up, it looked like a breakthrough — and in many ways, it was. But with the visibility came new challenges: a surge in demand, limited inventory, co-packer delays, and no team behind the scenes. I was the founder, customer service rep, shipping department, and marketer all at once. The pressure was intense, and I questioned whether I could keep up — or if I had made a mistake stepping away from the safer path.

But I chose to lean in. I communicated transparently with customers, owned the delays, and stayed focused on the long game. I took the hard moments and turned them into teachable moments — for myself and for my audience. I restructured operations, simplified the product line, and recommitted to building something sustainable, not just exciting.

That chapter taught me that resilience isn’t just about grit — it’s about staying rooted in your mission, being honest about your limits, and having the courage to keep showing up when the outcome is uncertain. I’ve risked comfort for conviction more than once, and I’d do it again.

It wasn’t always smooth — but it’s real. And that’s the foundation Hot Drops is built on.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hotdropsauce.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hotdropsauce/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewjwhiting/

Image Credits

These are all my own.