Inspiring Conversations with Alex Altamirano of 7 Siblings

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Altamirano.

Hi Alex, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Our company story starts with our family story. My wife Jennifer and I have a blended family with seven children. I had two boys, Jennifer had three kids, we got together and were given the surprise of a lifetime with the addition of twin girls to our family making us parents to seven kids! We do our best to keep our kids busy and a backyard family garden was one of the ways for us to work together and reap the benefits. Since I have always had a love for hot sauce and all things spicy, we grew ghost peppers and some other super hot chilies. Our first year harvest was so abundant that we started making hot sauce to share with our friends, neighbors and family. Once we had the recipe dialed in, our sauce became a tabletop staple for many and we were getting constant requests for more sauce! Our friend Chef Dan @chefdanielelliott sampled and loved our hot sauce and gave us the use of his commercial kitchen to be able to offer 7 Siblings Hot Sauce in restaurants and store shelves, so we got official labels made and launched our product! Since launching our original bottle, we have added two different heat levels to our roster, a milder Training Wheels sauce and our extra spicy Temper Tantrum named after the twins.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We had no idea what we were getting into when we officially launched nor did we have any idea of how popular and saturated the hot sauce market really is so it has been a lot of learning through the process. It’s probably better we didn’t know these things because it may have scared us away. Instead, we had a product that we believed in and were proud of and absolutely loved sharing. We felt confident that we should continue to share our sauces and that helped us get through some of the not so fun parts of opening a business.

We’ve been impressed with 7 Siblings, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
7 Siblings Hot Sauce is made “hotter than most”! As a table sauce, we pride ourselves in bringing a real heat option to the table. We grew up eating and loving most of the common table hot sauces but also had the dilemma of wanting more spice out of them. Since we use ghost peppers for our sauce, it adds a real kick to any dish and satisfies what most spicy food loving people want. Since our lives are completely centralized around our kids, we felt that our company should be too. We love including our kids in some of our projects and they really enjoy feeling like a central part of our family brand!

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success to us is first and foremost taking care of our kids and family. When it comes to our hot sauce, success has come as community support. Whether it be connecting with other small businesses or coming face to face with our customers at different events, we consider ourselves successful by being able to offer something that people fall in love with. Something people are excited to add to their daily meals that makes them happier. In family and in business, it really takes a village.

Contact Info:

• Email: 7siblingshotsauce@gmail.com
• Website: www.7siblingshotsauce.com
• Instagram: @7siblingshotsauce
• Facebook: 7 Siblings Hot Sauce
• Other: https://vimeo.com/642128533

Image Credits
Photos by Russell Spencer @photobyrusty