The Sauce market is thriving at the minute, with innovation coming at consumers from all angles. Well, if you’re looking for something delicious and different, it’s time you tried Cheeky Boy Sauces! We got the lowdown from Kaye Foong, the Founder and CEO of Cheeky Boy Sauces. Have a look at what he had to say on the processes if creating a new product, Start-Up challenges and advice!
So, what is Cheeky Boy sauces?
Cheeky Boy Sauces is a British brand producing a range of high quality table hot sauces for everyman & woman to motivate their week-day meals. Working long hours & commuting reduces the desire and time to cook well during the week. Cheeky Boy Sauces was created initially for our own use at home to counter the unmotivated ready meals and bland home-cooked meals during a working week.
These flavours all have an interesting story to them. As a veteran officer of the British Army serving in the Royal Engineers in Germany, Bosnia and Kosovo and with contractor operational time in Kuwait, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, the sauce flavours reflect the cultures and spices used by the locals.
What makes you guys different from the ‘run-of-the-mill’ sauces?
Our theme is use no distilled vinegar or water in order to bulk out the sauces.
“Let the ingredients speak for themselves.”
By sticking to this rule Cheeky Boy Sauces is now listed in stores where quality and taste matters.
What’s the story behind the name?
We know nothing about branding or marketing. So a branding company was tasked with a blue sky remit to go find the best match name & logo that reflects the character of the founder. Cheeky Boy Sauces was the result and we are very happy with it.
What’s been your biggest challenge to date, how did you overcome it?
Trying to do business in UK. I overcame this obstacle by exporting abroad. Now we export more than we sell in UK.
I overcame this obstacle by exporting abroad. Now we export more than we sell in UK.
How do you go about making a new sauce, what’s the process?
Jan to March is spent doing development work on new products. New flavours will get tweaked & tested out in 3rd party restaurants and gastro pubs. Friends & families also get to comment on the recipes. By the end of March, test batches of new flavours are introduced into the market through our stockists.
I’m sure you’ve had lots of amazing moments so far, what’s been the best? Why?
When the Waitrose tasting panel said that they have nothing like this on their shelves. This really makes us feel that we are heading in the right direction.
If you could only give one piece of advice to yourself when you started the business, what would it be?
Get your branding right from the beginning. A great product with awful branding and labelling will very quickly fail. I have seen this happen many times. I have also seen awful products with great branding become successful and get listed in UK supermarkets. There is no fair play in this game.
If you had to describe Cheeky Boy Sauces in 3 words, what would they be? Why?
Bold – By using natural ingredients, our flavours are bold and real. As you are tasting pure ingredients in Cheeky Boy Sauces, our flavours come out bold and true.
“Natural – Cheeky Boy Sauces source all raw ingredients that are free from anything artificial. That means no preservatives, colourings or flavourings.”
Honest – No BS added i.e. no dilution with water and vinegar. The majority of hot sauces on supermarket shelves contain 45%+ water and vinegar as their main ingredients. Cheeky Boy Sauces contain fruit, vegetables and spices.
Where can people find your delicious sauces?
Southern Coop, Waitrose Leckford Farm Shop, Muscle Food, Polhill Farm Shop, Amazon, Dutch Market Place, Southbourne Farm Shop, Carrefour Belgium, Sweden & Germany.
What’s next for Cheeky Boy Sauces?
Entering the US market. This has been a long planned process with many obstacles to cross. The Americans may speak English but their tastes, character and trends vary dramatically. Learning and adapting products to fit the US market is an ongoing process. Wish us luck!
We can’t wait to see all the tasty adaptations they come up with. Want your sauce fix asap? You can get your hands on some here!
