Are you more of a Sriracha fan or a Cholula person? What about Frank’s RedHot or Texas Pete? Your answer might be related to where you live. In honor of National Hot Sauce Day on Jan. 22, the folks at online grocery platform Instacart analyzed purchase data to reveal Americans’ hot sauce preferences. Looking at the country overall, the top brands sold in the U.S. in 2023 were Frank’s RedHot, Cholula, Tabasco, and Texas Pete.
Instacart’s report also includes a state-by-state breakdown of the most uniquely popular hot sauce in each state ― which reflects the share of hot sauce for each brand purchased on Instacart in a given state compared to the national average — and which states buy the most and least hot sauce (heat index):
1. Alabama: Louisiana Hot Sauce (Heat Index: 1.6)
2. Alaska: Frank's RedHot (Heat Index: 2.7)
3. Arizona: Valentina (Heat Index: 2.1)
4. Arkansas: Louisiana Hot Sauce (Heat Index: 1.3)
5. California: Tapatio (Heat Index: 2.5)
6. Colorado: Nanita's Finest (Heat Index: 3.0)
7. Connecticut: Frank's RedHot (Heat Index: 1.8)
8. Delaware: Crystal (Heat Index: 2.1)
9. Florida: Crystal (Heat Index: 1.4)
10. Georgia: Texas Pete (Heat Index: 2.1)
11. Hawaii: Tabasco (Heat Index: 1.0)
12. Idaho: Cholula (Heat Index: 1.4)
13. Illinois: Louisiana Hot Sauce (Heat Index: 2.0)
14. Indiana: Frank's RedHot (Heat Index: 1.9)
15. Iowa: Huy Fong Sriracha (Heat Index: 1.0)
16. Kansas: Spanish Gardens (Heat Index: 1.4)
17. Kentucky: Frank's RedHot (Heat Index: 1.9)
18. Louisiana: Tabasco (Heat Index: 1.3)
19. Maine: Frank's RedHot (Heat Index: 1.6)
20. Maryland: Crystal (Heat Index: 2.3)
21. Massachusetts: Frank's RedHot (Heat Index: 1.6)
22. Michigan: Frank's RedHot (Heat Index: 1.8)
23. Minnesota: Cholula (Heat Index: 1.7)
24. Mississippi: Louisiana Hot Sauce (Heat Index: 1.6)
25. Missouri: Louisiana Hot Sauce (Heat Index: 1.8)
26. Montana: Cholula (Heat Index: 1.6)
27. Nebraska: Trappey's (Heat Index: 1.3)
28. Nevada: Tapatio (Heat Index: 1.9)
29. New Hampshire: Frank's RedHot (Heat Index: 1.4)
30. New Jersey: Frank's RedHot (Heat Index: 1.9)
31. New Mexico: Monroe's (Heat Index: 3.5)
32. New York: Frank's RedHot (Heat Index: 2.0)
33. North Carolina: Texas Pete (Heat Index: 2.8)
34. North Dakota: Mexican Village Restaurant (Heat Index: 3.7)
35. Ohio: Frank's RedHot (Heat Index: 1.9)
36. Oklahoma: Louisiana Hot Sauce (Heat Index: 1.2)
37. Oregon: Sky Valley (Heat Index: 2.0)
38. Pennsylvania: Frank's RedHot (Heat Index: 2.0)
39. Rhode Island: Frank's RedHot (Heat Index: 1.4)
40. South Carolina: Texas Pete (Heat Index: 2.0)
41. South Dakota: Heinz (Heat Index: 0.9)
42. Tennessee: Louisiana Hot Sauce (Heat Index: 1.8)
43. Texas: Louisiana Hot Sauce (Heat Index: 1.7)
44. Utah: Cholula (Heat Index: 1.4)
45. Vermont: Frank's RedHot (Heat Index: 1.7)
46. Virginia: Texas Pete (Heat Index: 2.4)
47. Washington: Sky Valley (Heat Index: 1.8)
48. West Virginia: Frank's RedHot (Heat Index: 2.2)
49. Wisconsin: Frank’s RedHot (Heat Index: 1.6)
50. Wyoming: OX Brand (Heat Index: 1.9)
“Americans are passionate about hot sauce, and they are not shy about expressing their affinity for specific brands and flavors,” Instacart trends expert Laurentia Romaniuk told HuffPost. “As grocery data experts, we love celebrating food holidays like National Hot Sauce Day because we get to share America’s favorites and stir a timely and heated debate.” She noted that the brand’s last hot sauce report showed Huy Fong Sriracha reigning supreme as the top hot sauce in the U.S.
“But its status has clearly shifted in the wake of the shortage that dominated the past year,” Romaniuk said. “The reduced supply of the beloved rooster sauce left hot sauce enthusiasts to seek alternatives, but thankfully, we seem to be out of the worst of it. Our latest findings confirm a resurgence of Sriracha in people’s carts, marking a welcomed comeback among consumers.”
The hot sauce industry has certainly expanded in recent decades, with many big and small players broadening people’s understanding of what these pepper-based sauces can do and the range of dishes where they can be incorporated. Romaniuk believes this phenomenon fits with broader culinary and cultural trends in the U.S.
“The growing popularity of hot sauce and its wide variety of flavors and styles is a reflection of an increasingly diverse American population,” she said.
For more information about the methodology and additional hot sauce insights, check out Instacart’s blog post about the report.
This post was previously published on HuffPost.