Driving Our Economy Forward: Hoff & Pepper

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — A Chattanooga man is putting the word ‘Hoff’ in hot sauce. Aaron Hoffman has his own unique spin on the popular condiment, and even has plans to expand his hot sauce company.

See how Hoff and Pepper is driving our economy forward.

“The name came from, I love puns,” said Aaron ‘Hoff’ Hoffman, Founder and Chief Flavor Officer. “People call me Hoff because my last name’s Hoffman, and I was going to be working with peppers. And then I also ended up working with my wife full time. So, she became Pepper, and we became Hoff and Pepper.”

Hoffman says they have plenty of flavors to choose from.

“Aside from the everyday Hoff sauce, we’ve got your mean green,” he said. “It’s a green jalapeno base with lemongrass and parsley. We’ve got our Smoking Ghost, which is our hottest sauce. We’ve got our house sauce. This is a German inspired sauce. This is kind of a throwback to my German heritage.”

“We have a recipe for every spice that we make, and you have to make sure that you measure it correctly,” said Marquette Underwood, Production Lead.

“So here at Hoff & Pepper, we grow all of our own peppers here in Tennessee, up on the mountains of Dayton, just 45 minutes away from us,” Hoffman said. “We’re getting ready in about two weeks to start processing about 4,000 pounds of fresh jalapenos and habaneros per week. Currently we’re in about 4,500 retail stores around the country. We’re in 2,500 Ace Hardwares. Oddly enough, that is our largest retailer. We also just got into Sprouts, Whole Foods and we’re talking about a lot of exciting other stores right now.”

“Got a job here at Hoff & Pepper and they’ve just been the best company,” said Garrett Thompson, Foreman. “They’ve been very welcoming and patient with everybody working here. They’re growing.”

“There’s a lot of growth happening,” Hoffman said. “And in order to keep up with this growth, we are offering the opportunity of anyone, any customer, average Joe out there that wants to invest in Hoff & Pepper. The way to invest is to go to startengine.com\hoffandpepper. So, we’d love to have you come join part of the family here at Hoff & Pepper.”