Apostle Hot Sauce founders Mat and Jodie share their journey of flavour-forward sauces with a focus on artistry and community.
How did it all begin, why hot sauce and why Apostle?
Mat was always tinkering around with different condiments at home which he would give to friends and neighbours. We moved up to Paekākāriki in 2018 and decided to take some hot sauces he’d made to the local monthly market to try and meet people. We had such a positive response from our community which really encouraged us to start something real. I was studying graphic design at Uni at the time and was always coming up with different business ideas, so we combined our skills in food and design to bring the brand Apostle to life. When we were coming up with our concept we felt like the hot sauce market was really dominated by hyper-masculine imagery and had a culture of pain with chilli eating competitions and a “how hot can you handle” attitude. We felt like our product didn’t really align with this and we wanted our brand to feel gentle and represent the love of food we had. We felt the Saints were a perfect representation of this and we’ve worked hard to combine aspects of their stories into each label.
Tell us more about the ingredients, and inspiration for amazing and unforgettable range of flavours?
When we design our flavours we always want to make sure we’re putting out something different into the market, so we look at classic flavours and add our unique twist using ingredients available in New Zealand where we can. A good example of this is our Saint Peter Kiwifruit & Kawakawa Verde which is based on a classic Salsa Verde but instead of using Tomatillos which are not commercially grown in New Zealand, we use Kiwifruit for the tangy, zesty base and kawakawa to add a peppery element to the sauce. Our newest sauce is our Saint Francis – Kimchi Ketchup which is a really well balanced tomato ketchup combined with Kimchi, this is a really unexpected twist, but the tangy, funky Kimchi works so well with tomato.
Your favourite ways to enjoy Apostle Hot Sauce, the go-to recipe, the unexpected pairing?
These days I don’t think I eat any meals without one of our sauces, we’ve tried hard to make each one super unique so you can find something to accompany any meal. Over summer we made some pretty delicious cocktails with our fruit based hot sauces including a Cosmo using our Saint Andrew – Szechuan, Blueberry and Habanero hot sauce, it was super fruity with a subtle spicy kick.
In a market crowded with chilli sauces, yours really do stand out. Why do you think this is?
We really focus on flavour over heat which means we have some really interesting combinations that compliment your meal, for this reason we have a much wider customer base not just people who like a lot of chilli. We’ve also thought about the branding just as much as the contents. Each bottle depicts a Saint hand drawn by the illustrator and artist Juju, we wanted each bottle to look beautiful and worthy enough to display in your home or gift.
Available now throughout New Zealand, in Australia, UK and Japan. How have you spread the word on Apostle Hot Sauce? Which marketing tools have worked best for you?
We’ve been super lucky that a lot of our growth has happened relatively organically. Because our branding is quite unique we’ve had a lot of traction through social media. A recent example of this is our export to the UK which came about because the buyer at Selfridges saw our product on Instagram and sent us a message asking if they could stock us. It’s really shown us the importance of products not only tasting good, but also looking good on the shelf.
More on your Kapiti lifestyle and Ben’s role in the team.
We love living and working in Kāpiti, it’s a much more relaxed lifestyle with daily trips to the beach and a short commute. Ben, our 3 year old black lab, is our biggest moral support. If we’re having a bad day he’s always there for a cuddle and gets us out of the kitchen for beach walks and lots of play.
What’s (Anything) in the pipeline?
Yes! We are working on a couple of new products. Over the past 5 years Mat and I have been doing most things on our own which has meant time for product development has been super limited. However, we recently just hired someone to help us with production, so we have more time to work on new things, so you’ll definitely see some new things from us this year.
