It’s hard to believe another holiday season is upon us. What a year it’s been and what a crazy new reality we live in. In the frenzy of our busiest time of year, I want to pause and take a moment to acknowledge how far we’ve come, and the remarkable work of my small team of ten that has gotten us here despite the challenges of unprecedented global constraints.

In a short year we grew our team from one to ten, raised our first round of financing, launched on and became the top selling hot sauce on Amazon, entered hundreds of retail stores including Whole Foods, Wegmans, Target, and very soon Costco (!), and have launched multiple new products including a ten-year aged Black Vinegar, a fiery Hot Pot Base, and in two weeks, a VERY exciting new product that I can’t wait for you to try.

But we’ve also never faced more challenges as a small business. I’m sure by now you’ve seen the news plastered everywhere. Supply chains are a mess. There’s a shortage of products, shipping containers, dock workers and truck drivers. There are traffic jams at ports, ten fold increases on freight, surging costs across everything from fuel to corrugate to glass, and announcements of price increases from one company after another. When even McDonalds hikes their menu prices, you know that shit is getting real.