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“Our product really encapsulates that New Orleans way of life. We are so proud to be part of the city’s culture.”

life. We are so proud to be part of the city’s culture.” Their plans for celebrating a century are big and small. Every bottle will be embla zoned with a commemorative label with a “100 Years” badge. In addition, there will be a marketing blitz — everything from advertising in Louis Armstrong International Airport to a social media splash. They are also planning parties and festivals to celebrate the entire Baumer Foods lineup, as well as Louisiana food in general. To prepare for the next hundred years of Crystal Hot Sauce and Baumer Foods, Pepper says the first order of business is restoring the supply chain. Beyond that, it is a matter of keeping up with current technolo gies. “We’ve got some things in the works,” he teases. But when you get down to it, he says the secret to a successful second century is the same as the secret to a successful first. “You can’t be around for a hundred years if your products are bad. We’re not resting on our laurels. We work constantly to ensure that we are putting out the highest quality product — something that people enjoy — and we will continue to do that.” As for the anniversary itself, it does not escape Pepper’s notice that a hundred years is a really big deal, rarely achieved even by multibillion-dollar, international business empires.

the supporting cast, so to speak.” Whatever they are doing, it’s working. Crystal can seem less like a sauce than a culinary way of life for some people. Pepper told me that he’s heard of people using it on their ice cream and salads, and even getting tattoos of the bottle. He once met someone with a 12-ounce bottle inked on his bicep. Running from the bottle was an IV line leading into a vein. “There are some diehards out there,” he says. One hundred years may have shaped the New Orleans palate, and by extension, the world’s, but Baumer Foods is just getting started. “Three generations is not something that is easily done,” Pepper says. “It is a testament to my family’s legacy, and how we are trying to move the company forward. I have two daughters — a two-and-a-half-year-old, and a seven-month-old — and my dream is, hopefully, that one day they take over and move Baumer Foods into the next generation. It is not an easy feat, but I believe we will be doing this in another hundred years from now.”

“Obviously, there’s a sense of pride,” he says. “I mean, to be a third-generation company in the state of Louisiana is such a great honor, and I’ll do everything I can to keep it going.” How serious is he? “My name is Pepper !” he says with a laugh. “I’m a walking billboard. It is ingrained in my DNA, and everything that I do is a reflection of the brand, positively or negatively.” It can be stressful, he says, but he doesn’t shy away from that responsibility. “I take pride in it, just as my father and my grand father did. We are proud of our company. We are a successful brand. People love our product. And we just try to deliver to the best of our ability.” One key to the success of Crystal Hot Sauce — something, he says, everyone at Baumer Foods takes great pride in — is that they are “the chef’s best kept secret.” “We are not going to take away from the artistic creativity of a chef,” he says. “We are just going to enhance his or her flavor. So, some of our competitors, when you put their hot sauce in a dish, all you taste is their product. Crystal Hot Sauce, on the other hand, enhances the flavor component of a dish, but never becomes the star of it. We are

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