My Hot Sauce Queen Journey
My origin story truly fits my brand because it’s, well… weird.
I began my content creation journey in January of 2021 after being inspired by one of my favorite TikTokers to form an online community. My account started as a music channel but quickly changed to storytelling and doing silly things. I hit 1000 followers that May, but little did I know, I’d be growing a whole lot more.
A few months later, I went viral for hot sauce. HOT SAUCE! And here’s how it happened.
I was at a restaurant and asked for hot sauce for my eggs. The waitress brought out a mini Tabasco bottle, and I squealed because it was so cute! I took it home so I could refill it to keep in my purse.
I decided to film myself filling it. That video lived in my drafts for about a month before I posted it. And it immediately blew up.
It hit 1 million views within days, and people became invested in my “tiny bottle journey,” trying to figure out the best way to fill the bottle. Others were frustrated at me because instead of filling it with Tabasco, I used Frank’s RedHot.
One week and various methods later, I figured it out and filled the bottle using a serum dropper. I gained 6,000 followers and thought the journey was over.
But there was much more to this story…
I received DMs from both Tabasco and Frank’s RedHot, saying they saw my videos and wanted to send me packages to help with my tiny bottle journey! I immediately posted TikToks, keeping my followers updated, which was also seen by the hot sauce brands.
Tabasco messaged that they saw that “F****’s” reached out, and to remind me they were the OG, they put in all their social media bios “Bridget’s Favorite Hot Sauce”.
After posting a video saying I felt like Bella from Twilight, it quickly turned into a brand war. The prize: my heart. People became invested in the series, and I gained 100k+ followers in a week. Even the official TikTok account got involved and commented on the posts.
Both PR packages arrived—Tabasco sending 100s of mini bottles and merch; Frank’s sending a “Bridget’s RedHot” bottle and merch—but it didn’t stop there. Tabasco, who didn’t have a TikTok, launched their account to stay in the game. Their first video was about me, and I was the only person they followed. To go with the Twilight theme, Frank’s made a video of a photoshoot where they changed the Twilight logo to “Bridget,” and instead of an apple, the hands were holding a Frank’s bottle.
The Frank’s team took it a step further and visited Philadelphia because they had a “huge present” that was “a little too big to mail”! We met at Love Park, where they gave me a poster of the Bridget Twilight logo and a 6-FOOT HOT SAUCE BOTTLE.
In response, Tabasco told me a “clue” for my next surprise was on the way. I received a message in a Tabasco bottle—accompanied by a gallon of hot sauce—with coordinates to a location and instructions to invite 10 friends.
This lead me to a Tabasco-themed party, where the playlist was Taylor Swift and the menu featured only meals with different Tabasco sauce flavors, including “The Bridget Pie”. They also shipped, from Louisiana, three Tabasco pepper plants for me to take home.
In the midst of all this, other hot sauce companies joined in on the fun and sent me products, including The Raptor Ranch and The War Mouth. El YucaTeco was trying to enter the competition, and, along with hot sauce, wooed me with Taylor Swift merch and karaoke microphones.
While the Hot Sauce Wars was coming to an end, my hot sauce career wasn’t over.
Frank’s RedHot invited me to their headquarters in Maryland. There, they had a “promposal” where they offered me a job as their TikTok Brand Ambassador!
The time had come for me to choose a winner of the Hot Sauce Wars and the title of “Bridget’s Favorite Hot Sauce”. Ultimately, I chose Frank’s because of the new opportunity. And with a heartfelt message filled with Taylor Swift lyrics, Tabasco bid me farewell.
I spent a year and a half creating fun videos promoting Frank’s RedHot and hanging with my giant hot sauce bottle. Many other opportunities came from the partnership, including the chance to be in a Frank’s RedHot commercial.
I am so grateful to the brands for their insane generosity. I feel extremely blessed for all that has come from this journey. Who knew the impact one tiny bottle could have!
My advice to any creator is if you’re unsure about posting a piece of content but you enjoy it, POST IT, because it could change your life.
It sure changed mine.
