Scared Cowboy owners Ian Jovanovich (right) and John DiJulio. (Photos courtesy Scared Cowboy)
A hot sauce-making hobby has become a full-fledged side business for two local graphic designers.
Ian Jovanovich and John DiJulio recently launched Scared Cowboy, their own hot sauce brand that they’re selling online with plans to expand to Richmond-area farmer’s markets and local brick-and-mortar stores.
Jovanovich started making his own hot sauce five to six years ago for himself, friends and family. DiJulio had met Jovanovich through a mutual friend, and he, along with his other friends and family, encouraged Jovanovich to put it on the market.
“Everyone wanted to see Ian start selling it,” DiJulio said.
Jovanovich said he has always enjoyed a lot of hot sauce on his food, but wanted to make a tamer product to sell. DiJulio became his business partner after designing the label for the product.
“I feel like the problem with super hot hot sauce is you can’t put that much on before it’s unbearable,” Jovanovich said.
Scared Cowboy currently has four sauces available, all with a habanero pepper base. Their red sauce is made with lemon and garlic, their green sauce has tomatillo and cilantro, the orange sauce features tomato and garlic and their brown sauce includes tamarind and garlic.
Scared Cowboy currently offers four flavors.
“We definitely are focusing on creating a more unique kind of flavor profile, instead of just like a vinegar and hot pepper kind of blend,” DiJulio said.
While their current selection doesn’t include sauces with a significant amount of heat, they plan to produce spicier sauces in the future, per customers’ requests.
Each 8 fl. oz. bottle of hot sauce is $9.99, and the pair said they’ve sold around 500 bottles since their launch.
The Scared Cowboy name partially stems from the name of Jovanovich’s cat, Cowboy.
They have been making and bottling their sauce in Hatch Kitchen, a commercial kitchen in South Richmond for up-and-coming food and beverage businesses. They source their ingredients from Rudy’s Exotic Mushrooms and Produce and New Grand Mart, and hope to source from local farmers as they get more established.
The pair has invested roughly $7,000 into their business, allowing them to produce about 700 bottles to date.
Prior to their official launch of their online sales in May, they sold their sauce at their friend’s vintage markets. Jovanovich and DiJulio said while the market for locally made hot sauces in Richmond is small, there is some competition. Other hot sauces made in Richmond include Wild Earth Fermentation’s fermented hot pepper sauces and Hughlicious, formerly known as Damn Yankee.
For now, Scared Cowboy is a side venture for Jovanovich and DiJulio. Jovanovich works for The Zest Lab, a marketing agency headquartered in the Fulton area. DiJulio works for the University of Virginia. They’re currently working on getting the business off the ground, but hope to produce the sauce full time in the future.
Their next steps are to start selling Scared Cowboy in local farmers markets and stores. They have a list of retailers in mind but no deals have been secured yet. They said Dorey Park Farmers Market and Stella’s Market are two of their targets.
Scared Cowboy owners Ian Jovanovich (right) and John DiJulio. (Photos courtesy Scared Cowboy)
A hot sauce-making hobby has become a full-fledged side business for two local graphic designers.
Ian Jovanovich and John DiJulio recently launched Scared Cowboy, their own hot sauce brand that they’re selling online with plans to expand to Richmond-area farmer’s markets and local brick-and-mortar stores.
Jovanovich started making his own hot sauce five to six years ago for himself, friends and family. DiJulio had met Jovanovich through a mutual friend, and he, along with his other friends and family, encouraged Jovanovich to put it on the market.
“Everyone wanted to see Ian start selling it,” DiJulio said.
Jovanovich said he has always enjoyed a lot of hot sauce on his food, but wanted to make a tamer product to sell. DiJulio became his business partner after designing the label for the product.
“I feel like the problem with super hot hot sauce is you can’t put that much on before it’s unbearable,” Jovanovich said.
Scared Cowboy currently has four sauces available, all with a habanero pepper base. Their red sauce is made with lemon and garlic, their green sauce has tomatillo and cilantro, the orange sauce features tomato and garlic and their brown sauce includes tamarind and garlic.
Scared Cowboy currently offers four flavors.
“We definitely are focusing on creating a more unique kind of flavor profile, instead of just like a vinegar and hot pepper kind of blend,” DiJulio said.
While their current selection doesn’t include sauces with a significant amount of heat, they plan to produce spicier sauces in the future, per customers’ requests.
Each 8 fl. oz. bottle of hot sauce is $9.99, and the pair said they’ve sold around 500 bottles since their launch.
The Scared Cowboy name partially stems from the name of Jovanovich’s cat, Cowboy.
They have been making and bottling their sauce in Hatch Kitchen, a commercial kitchen in South Richmond for up-and-coming food and beverage businesses. They source their ingredients from Rudy’s Exotic Mushrooms and Produce and New Grand Mart, and hope to source from local farmers as they get more established.
The pair has invested roughly $7,000 into their business, allowing them to produce about 700 bottles to date.
Prior to their official launch of their online sales in May, they sold their sauce at their friend’s vintage markets. Jovanovich and DiJulio said while the market for locally made hot sauces in Richmond is small, there is some competition. Other hot sauces made in Richmond include Wild Earth Fermentation’s fermented hot pepper sauces and Hughlicious, formerly known as Damn Yankee.
For now, Scared Cowboy is a side venture for Jovanovich and DiJulio. Jovanovich works for The Zest Lab, a marketing agency headquartered in the Fulton area. DiJulio works for the University of Virginia. They’re currently working on getting the business off the ground, but hope to produce the sauce full time in the future.
Their next steps are to start selling Scared Cowboy in local farmers markets and stores. They have a list of retailers in mind but no deals have been secured yet. They said Dorey Park Farmers Market and Stella’s Market are two of their targets.
sounds delicious!
That dog looks pretty scared, too.
Cool dog,hes saying “I’m watching you”
Yep, first thing I thought when I saw that picture was “Why didn’t the give the dog’s name in the caption?”
I’m rather confused. The pet cat is named Cowboy, and the 70lb nameless dog with impossibly long forelimbs is hoisted for the photo op?