A Stafford sauce maker will see her flavors stocked by the Fredericksburg Food Cooperative starting Thursday, March 24
Since its opening 13 months ago, Always Flavored has sold its spices and sauces to customers at farmers’ markets in Stafford and Spotsylvania counties and at events like Fredericksburg Brew Fest.
“I’m so happy to work with the Fredericksburg Food Co-Op,” said Always Flavored owner and founder Rita Witte.”I love how they encourage and promote local food products, giving them a chance to spread their wings and grow.”
The Co-op, a grocery store focused on local foods, natural and organic products, and sustainable practices, will be the first location where the brand’s products.
Among its various sauces, spices, and condiments, Always Flavored is known for its hottest hot sauce called Wrath of Rita. The sauce is made with Carolina Reaper peppers, Ghost peppers, and habaneros, blended with mango and pineapple to manage the heat.
“My business model is more about flavor than heat, but customers demanded a hotter sauce. I studied the hottest peppers on the market and learned how to enhance the taste of the pepper and control the burn, ” says Witte.
Witte is no stranger to the business world after managing Applebee’s and Taco Bell restaurants. Witte opened a marketing and event planning business, Always Making it Happen, in 2018.
The coronavirus stopped the business in its tracks in 2020. But Witte pivoted into making hot sauces from her family garden, where she grew peppers. Witte had grown too many peppers and could not give them away, so she decided to make a hot sauce.
After offers from friends to buy the sauce after sampling, she decided to sell it in the community from her home in North Stafford.
The grand opening is being organized by the Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce. A grand opening celebration will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony to be followed with refreshments, door prizes, and giveaways. There will also be DJ services and photo booths provided by Big Day Productions.
The grand opening will occur at the Fredericksburg Food Cooperative sits at 320 Emancipation Highway (Route 1) in Fredericksburg. The event starts Thursday, March 24 at 4:30 pm.
