177 | Focus on Product, Experience, and Logistics | with Noah Chaimberg

Noah’s love of hot sauce began well before he founded HEATONIST. In fact, he’s loved spicy food for as long as he can remember. 

Growing up, Noah’s family joked that he got his love of spicy food from his mom’s mom. The family lived in Austin, Texas in the 50s and legend tells about a time his grandmother went to buy a garland of dried chilis for cooking. 

The grocer tried to talk her out of it, saying they were too hot for her, but she told him she knew what she was doing. 

He said if she ate one of the chilis right then and there, he'd pay for her whole basket of groceries. Groceries were on him that week! 

She and Noah are the only members of the family with red hair, and the only two to love spicy food. Coincidence, or connection? 

As he grew older, Noah found he enjoyed cooking after experimenting with his first grill. At 17, he interviewed for a job at an Outback Steakhouse that opened in town (South Burlington, Vermont). 

Most of his friends interviewing were made dishwashers or busboys, but somehow Noah was put on the line cooking. He loved the heat of it, and ended up working in kitchens for the next six years. 

While studying at Concordia University in Montreal, Noah had the chance to open his first food business: a breakfast and lunch counter inside of an MMA training facility. He named it Callaloo after the healthy Caribbean leafy green, and it was all about positive nutrition. 

It developed a real following with the trainers and their athlete clients. After graduating in 2007, Noah moved to New York City to get his business degree. 

After working in digital marketing for years, Noah began sharing his hot sauce passion with coworkers and friends, and the rest is history! 

He returned to his entrepreneurial and food-focused roots and launched the hot sauce tasting mobile in NYC in 2013 and opened the hot sauce tasting room in Brooklyn in 2015. 

Today, Noah splits time between Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Livingston Manor, NY, where he is working to establish the HEATONIST chili farm. Stay tuned for HEATONIST Catskills, coming soon! 

In This Conversation We Discuss: 

[00:00] Intro[02:07] Where the idea of Heatonist started[04:03] From a push cart to online, to brick and mortar[04:43] When Noah went full-time into hot sauces[05:42] How Noah got customers online[06:59] Moving into warehouses after initial success[07:51] The best investments to drive traffic[08:10] Focus on experience vs growth[08:41] Sourcing and producing hot sauces[09:29] Where the Heatonist name started[11:07] Hot sauce making is a great and loving community[11:48] Sponsor: Electric Eye electriceye.io[12:08] Sponsor: Mesa apps.shopify.com/mesa[12:52] Sponsor: Gorgias gorgias.grsm.io/honest[14:18] Sponsor: BeProfit beprofit.co[15:49] Sponsor: Klaviyo klaviyo.com/honest[16:37] How Hot Ones came into the picture[19:02] Learn to delegate early on[19:53] Logistics can be difficult[21:32] Why Heatonist stopped running their own warehouse[22:12] When should a founder move to a 3PL?[24:16] Partnering with the Shopify Fulfillment Network[24:55] Which hot sauce would Noah recommend?

Resources:

Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on YoutubePurveyors of fine hot sauces, as featured on Hot Ones heatonist.comConnect with Noah linkedin.com/in/noahchaimbergScale your business with electriceye.ioDownload Mesa at the Shopify App Store apps.shopify.com/mesaLevel up your customer support gorgias.grsm.io/honestVisit beprofit.co and use code HONEST15 to get an exclusive 15% off any plan for the lifetime of your planGet started with a free account at klaviyo.com/honest

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