Two months ago, Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, a multi-talented individual including being a celebrity offspring, husband, photographer, and cook, made a significant decision. He quit his job (no need to ask which one) to pursue his true calling. In a caption on his Instagram page, the 25-year-old excitedly shared, "So excited to finally share my passion project." However, the main issue with this passion project is that it appears to be similar to many other aspiring entrepreneurs' ventures - hot sauce.

Beckham's Cloud23 Hot Sauce

Beckham's hot sauce line, Cloud23, is sold in Whole Foods Market in the UK. There are several aspects one could analyze about this brand, such as the name, the unique bubble-bath-style bottles, and the £29-for-two price tag. But aside from the fact that I actually quite like both flavors, the main takeaway is that its arrival marks a new era for celebrity vanity projects. In the weeks following its UK launch, Cloud23 and Beckham's Instagram feeds were filled with him doing not-so-revolutionary things with his sauce, like putting it on a jacket potato or even a burger. Alongside these, there were pictures from a glamorous launch party in LA and collaborations with famous chefs like Nobu Matsuhisa.Now, it's important to note that hot sauce is not a new invention. It has a long history that dates back thousands of years, with some believing it began with the Aztecs. It became popular due to American soul food and a surge in interest in Korean and Chinese cuisines. But in recent times, it has become a sort of low-key flex, similar to when the most common celebrity side hustle was selling vitamin water.Kim Kardashian has invested in Truff, a truffle-flavored hot sauce loved by Oprah Winfrey and sold in vessels shaped like perfume bottles. Ed Sheeran has £3-a-bottle Tingly Ted's, manufactured by Kraft Heinz. Elwyn Gladstone, the great-great-grandson of former prime minister William Gladstone, also has a hot sauce line, Casa Firelli, with pretty turquoise branding and available from £2.70 a bottle on Ocado. Even Jeremy Clarkson is involved, as Diddly Squat Farm Shop sells a £6 habanero chutney made using his son Finlo's recipe and chillies grown on the farm.Admittedly, we as consumers play a part in this. As a friend pointed out, the addiction of millennial foodies to status-symbol products like £5 tins of Perello olives and jars of Bold Bean Co chickpeas is the reason why the launch photography for Beckham's hot sauce "looks like it was taken in someone's Walthamstow flat." We are drawn to anything with edgy marketing in a nice bottle. So, it's not surprising that Cloud23 sold out in hours, even if it was stocked in middle-class Whole Foods rather than an east London deli.

How Many Hot Sauces Do We Really Need?

Statistics show that we are buying a lot of hot sauces. My cupboard is filled with at least a dozen bottles - wasabi, jerk, habanero, smoked, jalapeño, and lime. Ocado stocks more than 90 varieties, and while its sales of ketchup dipped last year, the number of bottles of sriracha hot sauce rose by 26 per cent. David Tran, the founder of Huy Fong Sriracha, the most famous hot sauce in the world and the world's first billionaire hot sauce owner, famously said, "Make a rich man's sauce at a poor man's price," and he was right.Will we get over hot sauce like we did with cake pops and charcoal ice cream? Or will it be one of those trends that sticks around like kombucha, with everyone afraid to admit they don't like searing off their taste buds every mealtime in case they become irrelevant? "It's unlikely, really. Hot sauce is still considered a cult item compared to something like ketchup," says Pam Digva, the co-founder of Sauce Shop, which sells more than two million bottles of its condiments each year. "And it has a long way to go before it peaks and then fades away."

The Key to Successful Hot Sauces

"There's also a practicality to hot sauce - you can transform a meal in seconds," adds Drew Wolf, the co-founder of one of Britain's most popular hot sauces, Kold. He started the company at his home during lockdown. The key to distinguishing between vanity projects and good hot sauces is not only the flavor but also the founders themselves. "Our audience is smart," Wolf continues. "The hot sauces that succeed have brilliant founders who bring their identity into their product and brand. We focus on authenticity."Hot sauce might not be original, but at least it's authentic. It offers a unique way to add flavor and excitement to our meals, and with the right founders and marketing, it can continue to thrive in the market.