It’s hot, hot, hot in the La Pimenterie offices at the moment. The Montreal hot sauce maker has just launched its first product in France, with an unexpected and resounding success.
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“It’s great, but wow,” says Julien Fréchette, the one-man show founder of the company founded in 2016.
Wow, because he’s almost taken aback by the request. “When you see 4,000 people coming to your website at the same time to buy a 5-ounce jar of sauce, that’s impressive.”
The secret of the success of kumquat crush sauce in France? The presence in the team of a certain Gurky, a YouTuber from Quebec with one million subscribers.
The Gurky sauce made from kumquats and yellow peppers sold out in a flash. Photo from La Pimenterie website
Passionate about spiciness, he selected the ingredients with his father, who was just as keen on burning mouths as he was. He even got his subscribers to vote for the choice of kumquat, an unusual citrus fruit for a hot sauce.
“We knew it was popular and had followers in Europe, but it exceeded our expectations,” says Julien Fréchette, pinching himself.
At the launch last week, he sold his first 3,500 pots in less than an hour. He’s just urgently sent a pallet – by ship – to France because there’s a waiting list of more than 500 names wanting to get their hands on a bottle.
Jules, aka Gurky, in the middle, surrounded by his father (left) and Julien Fréchette, photo from La Pimenterie website
A good start
La Pimenterie sells about 300,000 jars of hot sauce annually in Quebec and the United States. This trip to France therefore does not represent a large volume. Above all, it is the beginning of something much larger.
The collaboration with Gurky went so well that Julien Fréchette doesn’t see why he shouldn’t do it again.
“Thanks to Gurky, I rediscovered the joy of storytelling,” says the 41-year-old former director turned pepper expert.
The 25-year-old YouTuber made a video about making “his” kumquat crush sauce. Posted on his channel 10 days ago, it already has almost 300,000 views.
It was he who brought this to the attention of his subscribers when the new product was introduced.
“I wondered if it really worked, the power of influencers. I no longer have any doubts,” laughs Julien Fréchette.
Still, Gurky is a good guy, he says. The entrepreneur shares enough values with the young web star to be happy to offer him the role of ambassador for La Pimenterie.
“His team is helping us find our way in France. “We are lucky to have come across a young person who is as brilliant as he is good at marketing,” summarizes the friendly, bearded man and spice expert.
Julien Fréchette Pierre-Paul Poulin / Le Journal de Montréal / QMI Agency
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