ST. LOUIS — Joel Anderson of Belleville, Illinois has been a lifelong lover of spicy food. He never thought about making his own hot sauce until a couple of years ago when he started to garden.
He grew so many peppers that he ran out of things to do with them. So, he started experimenting with hot sauces, and that is when Anderson and Son Pepper Company was born.
Being a graphic designer and video editor, he decided to create a mockup label just for fun, and it took off from there.
The name of the hot sauce is Don’t Touch the Baby. “That name came from, you know, when I was first making the hot sauce and I would come in from making it. And our son was about six months old at the time. And so, my wife would always be telling me, ‘don't touch the baby, don't touch the baby,’ because, you know, you can't get the peppers in your eyes or on your skin or anything like that. And she said it enough times, I guess the name stuck.”
In addition to the hot sauce, there is also a Ranch-flavored seasoning available for purchase.
Anderson and Son Pepper Co. products can be found at a few local spots: Millpond Brewing, Bennie’s Pizza Pub, Strange Donuts and The Annex in Webster Groves.
For more information and to make a purchase online, visit andersonpepperco.com.