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

Hi Randy, thanks for joining us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

Thinking back on the launch of West Indies Peppa Sauce, it was the right timing in our lives and in our careers. We started the ideation phase in the summer of 2023 and registered our business in the fall. Shauna’s background is in marketing for fintech companies, and mine is in sales and account management for logistics technology. In the spring of 2024, while still working full-time and raising two young children, we launched our business. Shortly after, I was laid off. The perfect storm hit a few months later when Shauna was also laid off!

Now, you might think, “Layoffs? That’s terrible timing!” But honestly, looking back, it was a blessing in disguise. If we’d tried to launch any earlier, say, during the tail end of the pandemic, I’m not sure we would have seen the same kind of success. People’s spending habits were still shifting, and while the love for hot sauce was definitely growing, the market hadn’t quite hit that sweet spot.

While the layoffs were as painful as they were, they gave us the push we needed. We were both armed with a ton of skills from our tech careers, and suddenly, we had the time and motivation to channel all that energy into something we were passionate about.

We dove headfirst into the project, using our business backgrounds to A/B test everything. We refined my great-grandma’s amazing pepper sauce recipe, perfected our branding and packaging designs, and hit up local markets to gauge interest. The response at farmers’ markets was incredible and customers kept coming back for more at the markets and on our website. It is so validating to build your own brand, have your own product and see people genuinely interested and love it as well.

Honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. Starting West Indies Peppa Sauce when we did was the perfect storm of circumstances. It allowed us to leverage our skills, embrace a new adventure, and create something truly special. It’s been incredibly rewarding, and I’m so excited to see what the future holds!

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 Randy Pulayya, the founder of West Indies Peppa Sauce, and my wife, Shauna Vo Pulayya, is my business partner. We’re not just slinging hot sauce; we’re on a mission to preserve and celebrate the vibrant food culture of the Caribbean and West Indies while ensuring that future generations can connect with their heritage and experience its rich flavors. Our purpose is to showcase the unique culinary traditions of this vast region through authentic and high-quality Caribbean food products, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of West Indies culture worldwide. It’s a legacy we carry close to our hearts, passed down from my mom and grandma.

A little about our roots: Shauna and I are children of immigrants. My family is Guyanese-American, landing in Brooklyn (Greenpoint) and Queens (Richmond Hill) in the late ’70s. I grew up in Richmond Hill, immersed in the rich tapestry of Caribbean culture. Shauna’s family immigrated from Vietnam, where her father was a refugee and her mother was adopted by a U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army veteran before the war ended.

Our own story is a bit of a whirlwind. We actually met at JFK Airport in 2007, two travelers crossing paths. From there, our journey took us from Arkansas to Washington, D.C., a year in South Korea, four years in Vietnam, and over 60 countries combined! Travel is in our blood, and it’s definitely seasoned our perspective.

Now, about West Indies Peppa Sauce. This isn’t just a business; it’s a passion project. I’ve been crafting pepper sauces for over 20 years, sharing them with friends and family across the globe. It was a natural evolution, a calling to share the flavors of my heritage. And when we both got laid off (yes, that layoff story!), it was the universe giving us the nudge we needed to finally bring West Indies Peppa Sauce to life.

The response has been nothing short of incredible. From the moment we launched, the orders haven’t stopped. The energy at farmers’ markets is electric—people connect with our story, our brand, and, most importantly, the authentic flavors of our products. It’s as if they’ve been searching for these flavors their entire lives. Some customers have even said that our products taste like homemade family recipes, which can be especially meaningful for those who have lost loved ones and can no longer find those familiar flavors. We’re incredibly happy to bring joy to these customers through our products and ultimately fulfilling our purpose and mission as a company.

Within nine months of launching, we won the 2024 Spicy International Flavor Sauce of the Year—first place in the Caribbean category! We were up against some serious competition, so that win was huge.

What makes us different? It’s the authenticity. It’s the connection to our roots. It’s the love we pour into every jar. Our signature sauces, the citrusy Red Scotch Bonnet and the tangy Yellow Scotch Bonnet, are based on a four-generation-old recipe from my great-grandmother. They’re vegan, gluten-free, and all-natural, because we believe in keeping it real.

We’re incredibly proud of the community we’re building, the connections we’re making, and the flavors we’re sharing. We want people to know that West Indies Peppa Sauce is more than just a condiment; it’s a taste of home, a celebration of culture, and a reminder that passion and flavor can ignite a revolution. And this is just the beginning—we’ve got a whole product line in the works!

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

This isn’t our first rodeo in the side hustle arena. Before West Indies Peppa Sauce, my partner Shauna and I dipped our toes into a couple of other ventures. Living in Vietnam, we explored sourcing apparel and connecting with U.S. buyers. Later, combining my creative passion with Shauna’s marketing background, we launched a marketing agency. But this side hustle feels different. And honestly, it’s a bit of a surprise. I’ve always been in the tech industry, never imagining I’d start a pepper sauce company, let alone a physical product business. But this was different. This was something we used every single day. My great-grandma’s pepper sauce wasn’t just a recipe; it was a staple in our kitchen. And whenever I made it for friends and family, the response was always the same: “Can I get some more of that?”

In Spring 2024, I found myself laid off, but instead of panicking, I poured my energy into something I’d been passionate about for over 20 years: my great-grandma’s pepper sauce recipe. That passion became West Indies Peppa Sauce, also known as WIPS.

We launched with a simple strategy: connecting with people. We hit the farmers’ markets, shared our story and flavors on social media (Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook), and let the product speak for itself. People resonated with our brand, our story, and, most importantly, the incredible taste. What started as a side hustle quickly snowballed into a full-time operation.

Along the way, we’ve hit some incredible milestones. First, we won the 2024 Spicy International Flavor Sauce Awards in the Caribbean category! Then, we launched on Amazon.com with Prime, which on the Amazon seller side is called Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), significantly expanding our reach. And finally, we partnered with a co-packer. This was huge for us, allowing us to build up inventory with the ultimate goal of getting our sauce onto retail shelves. We’re now fulfilling orders and shipping our pepper sauce nationwide.

Now, we’re setting our sights on bigger things. We’re aiming to get our all-natural, vegan, and gluten-free pepper sauce on the shelves of retailers like Whole Foods, Wegmans, and Sprouts. We know our product is high-quality, our story is compelling, and we’re ready to share it with the world.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Building a reputation in any market takes time and dedication, but for us at West Indies Peppa Sauce, it’s been a journey rooted in purpose, mission, and vision. Our purpose is to preserve and celebrate Caribbean/West Indies culture through our premium food products, ensuring future generations can connect with their heritage through its rich flavors. This purpose fuels our mission: to provide authentic, high-quality Caribbean food products that showcase the unique culinary traditions of the region, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of West Indies culture worldwide. Ultimately, our vision is to become a global leader in Caribbean premium food products, inspiring people to explore the bold tastes of the West Indies and connecting communities through the shared experience of food. Our sauces are for everyone, but what’s truly propelled us has been the incredible strength of the Caribbean community, both online and here in Central and South Florida.

I knew our culture was strong, and that we loved supporting each other. But I never fully grasped the power of that connection within the food scene until we launched West Indies Peppa Sauce. Caribbean food is so unique and diverse, a testament to the myriad cultures that have come together in the West Indies melting pot. We’ve been fortunate to connect and collaborate with so many influential voices in the Caribbean food space, people like Vanessa James, Chef Dev, Salmah Hack, Shaan Grande from WhatsInDePot, and Foodie Nation, just to name a few. These authentic connections have been invaluable in amplifying our message and introducing our sauce to a wider audience. And here in Florida, we’ve connected with so many people who deeply value the authentic flavors of home. It’s not just about the taste; it’s about the memories. We’ve had customers tell us that our scotch bonnet sauces taste just like their mothers’ and grandmothers’ recipes – recipes that, sadly, are no longer being made. That’s when it hits you. We’re not just selling pepper sauce; we’re helping to preserve a vital part of Caribbean culture, fulfilling our company’s core purpose. We’re sharing a taste of home, a piece of our heritage, and the community has embraced us wholeheartedly for it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shopwips.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopwips/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553675754119
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/west-indies-peppa-sauce/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/shopwips
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@shopwips/videos

Image Credits

The feature image and the first image were taken by Anthony Artica.