I Met The Man Who Turned 4 Habanero Plants Into a Business

He's driven, clever, but most importantly, eager to share his handcrafted sauces with the world.

It all started when I had an idea to launch a video series for myPanier- showing the world the faces behind the labels of the food we eat. When I asked my team who we should ask first to test this series with, the immediate answer was John Kessler from Infinity Sauces. 

And my team was not wrong. With his witty humor and fiery passion for his business, I knew the first episode would be easy and a joy to make. Hanging around John and his crew for a couple hours while they maneuvered the kitchen was mesmerizing: they worked very quickly, but never bumping in to one another. One might think of it as "The Dance of Habaneros", the guys knew exactly what to do, when to do it, moving around at the perfect pace. 

When John accidentally grew a whopping 25 pounds of habneros in his backyard, he quickly needed a solution to make use up his newly harvested crops. He took to the kitchen and turned those peppers into his delicious sauces, ranging from mild and sweet to extremely hot. 

Although, business wasn't always sweet for John. He admits that he had his fair share of struggle when staring out, mainly having issues with manufacturing and distribution. At one point, John couldn't even find simple glass bottles to pack his sauces in. 

While these issues come and go, John continues to persevere through the hardships and keep his customers happy with his delicious, one-of-a-kind sauces. It's even true that some customers have a hard time eating some foods without John's special sauces, "I make sure to always buy extra when ordering my bottles of Infinity Sauce. I can't tell you how bad it is when I run out of my Chipotle sauce! It changed the way I eat and taste my food, truly!" says Walter Smith of Long Beach, CA. 

While hanging around with John, I learned one thing that he truly values and wants all of his customers to know. He emphasized that when creating his sauces, flavor ALWAYS comes first and foremost, the heat level follows. And there's a good reason his sauces are award winning, they are the perfect topping for tacos, eggs, hamburgers, and even soups. The options are infinite, that's for sure. 

Ready to taste some of the award-winning sauces for yourself? Buy a bottle or two here and tell us what you think!