Our Story

1971

Tapatio Hot Sauce entered the business world in 1971, when Mr. Jose-Luis Saavedra, Sr. started his company. As with most great products, Tapatio's beginnings were very modest. Still working a daytime job to supplement his income in order to cover business expenses, Mr. Saavedra leased a 750 square foot building located in the city of Maywood, CA. With only the 5 oz. size bottle...

1985

After years of constant growth, Mr. Saavedra realized he needed a bigger warehouse. Tapatio moved into a new 8,500 square foot warehouse less than a mile away. Mr. Saavedra's three children, now out of college, joined him full time. With a new facility and the additional workforce of his children, the future looked bright for Tapatio Hot Sauce.

1988

Always popular in the Hispanic community, Tapatio Hot Sauce was now crossing over and becoming a staple in American households. With this accelerated growth, there was great demand for a larger size bottle. The 10 oz. bottle was introduced and accompanied by the 5 oz. bottle; gave Tapatio Hot Sauce a formidable "one-two" punch.

1989

With Mr. Saavedra's continued commitment of providing the highest quality product at the best price to his valued customers, Tapatio continued its rapid growth surpassing most of its competitors. Tapatio's increased popularity called for the introduction of the quart size (32 oz.) bottle, which became an instant success.

1996

Now a nationwide leader in the hot sauce industry, Tapatio saw record sales. The Saavedra family realized they had outgrown their location and began looking for a larger facility. Unable to find the perfect fit, Mr. Saavedra bought some land and custom built a state-of-the-art, 30,000 square foot facility. Tapatio's new warehouse allowed Mr. Saavedra to maintain his dream of providing a superior product with excellent customer service at the most competitive price.

1997

A new Tapatio Label is released into production.

1999

Tapatio Hot Sauce again received requests to sell the product in a larger container. Maintaining the company philosophy to never compromise on quality, the plastic gallon size container was introduced. This size became very popular in the Food Service industry, amusement parks, and sporting arenas.

2000

After receiving thousands of requests for Tapatio in small packets, the company once again answered the needs of its consumers. The introduction of 7-gram individual packets allowed fast-food restaurants to offer their customers Tapatio Hot Sauce in an individual serving size. This lightweight package has also been extremely popular by military personnel abroad and Tapatio has been happy to support the troops by providing them with the flavor of home.

2006

Fully incorporated Tapatio Hot Sauce celebrated 35 years of providing high quality hot sauce to our valued customers. This could not have been accomplished without our customer's loyal patronage and help in spreading the word of our great tasting hot sauce. Tapatio Hot Sauce looks forward to many more years of providing the uncompromised taste of our hot sauce to customers.

2011

Tapatio Hot Sauce celebrated 40 years of providing high-quality hot sauce to our valued customers.

2016

Celebrating our 45th Anniversary, we look forward with great enthusiasm to a new line of exciting Tapatio products. In addition to our recently released dry seasoning for fruits and vegetables, we look forward to the release of Tapatio Premium Meats, bringing our distinctive trademark flavor and spice to the prepared meat section of your local grocer. In addition, a new collaboration with BIGS will result in the introduction of Tapatio sunflower seeds in April 2016.

2021

Which brings us to this moment, our 50th anniversary, brought on by the hard work of our dedicated employees, but more importantly by the loyalty of our valued customers. It is with this gratitude that we pledge to continue to work hard to make the best hot sauce on the market for future generations to enjoy. The Tapatio family thanks you all.