Great non-mass produced condiments

Hi, everybody! I’m thinking of starting a business selling great condiments that are hard to find. Do you have any favorite condiments that you have trouble finding near where you live? I’m looking for hot sauces, chili pastes, or other ready-to-use condiments like non-perishable barbecue sauces, salsas and chutneys that aren’t mass-produced or normally found in supermarkets, and have a fairly long shelf life until they’re opened. Secondarily, I would also be interested in products that can be used in cooking, such as spice rubs or other seasonings. Any information you can give me about the names of products, what they are and what makes them special, the name of the manufacturer and their address or at least the name of the town where they’re produced, and their website, if they have one (though if they have no web presence, that’s great!) would be really helpful to me in researching more products that could meet my high standards. It doesn’t matter what country the items are from; if they’re great and don’t require refrigeration before opening, I’m interested.

Where do you live, Pan? (Region, country) these types of products seem to be all over local towns in the US.

I love fennel pollen. Chef Bernard also has chef pollen for poultry, pork, beef and lamb as well as fish and shellfish. I get them in 1 oz container. Do not need to be refrigerated but has to store in cool dry place, 50-60 degrees. Sold by Pollen Ranch www .fennelpollen.com.
It is pricey but if you can get them cheaper, be interested . It really makes food smell so good!

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I live in New York, but any condiment you know and love that doesn’t have to be refrigerated before opening is interesting to me, regardless of where it’s made.

ccj, thanks for the suggestion of fennel pollen. I love fennel and fennel seeds but haven’t tried using the pollen before.

I also love saffron
I have a jar of saffron from Costco
It is 1 ounce jar of the Coupe saffron which they purchased from Pacific Plaza Import
They have discontinued that. Item 108140
I am told that Costco wil be carrying the full thread saffron in 14 gms being sold at Pacific Plaza currently for $110
Costco negotiated the price but I do not know how much they wil sell it for.
coupe is fine with me
I believe, I paid around $35 for the one ounce of Coupe Saffron from Costco
Coupe is fine with me as I can still smell the saffron thru the jar and the yellow cellphone wrap!

Try and use Fennel Pollen.
I first got hooked watching Anne Burrell’s brined pork chop , then grilled using fennel pollen
I stil have tins of every kind,
If I do not feel like doing much more for any meat, fish or vegetable, I just add my fennel pollen.
If you can get it cheaper, of course, I will be interested.

Saffron is a good idea. It’s of such variable quality, though, so you do have to be careful.

What have you been paying for fennel pollen?

They have fennel pollen at Kalyustan’s for sure, and I know I’ve seen it at other places. It’s always about $30 an ounce these days (the price has jumped up a lot in the last few years, I don’t know why.

Spice House has it online for about $25 an ounce.

the saffron that I bought from Costco is pretty decent.
it is coupe in one ounce from Spain for $35 I think,
Any day now, they will have the higher grade full thread saffron from the same company in 14 oz jar. I believe it is $110 for 14 gms from Pacific Plaza but they told me Costco will sell it at a discounted price bec they buy a lot. It will be available in the next few days. I was given the item number for it . I still have saffron but I want to buy it when they carry it as it is expensive elsewhere

I stil have fennel pollen in the one ounce container. I believe it is $15.00 from pollen ranch

I get it from pollen ranch
It is $15.00 for one ounce.

Will you be making these condiments or are you buying them from other sources?

Soom tahini! I’m also in nyc and it’s not easy to find here but it’s really the best stuff and shelf stable
https://www.soomfoods.com
Big spoon roasters for interesting nut butters, they are from n carolina and just in a few specialty shops in nyc


Manna organics is another great nut butter company with some unique flavors

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here’s another nut butter
http://eliotsadultnutbutters.com/product/

The downside of nut butters is that they are heavy, especially if packed in glass. That’ll add to shipping cost, which could either cut into profits or deter customers.

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If I understand your query correctly, you’re interested in distribution and not production or re-branding, right?

We would be buying them.

Exactly.

Although I love nut butter, I think that nut butters probably won’t be among the first products I would carry, both because they are heavy and also because people might use them up quickly.

Does anyone have any other suggestions of products for me to look at?

How about ras al hanout? You can mix your own batch.

Sure I can, but I’m looking for things that are already packaged to sell. I’d rather leave the mixing to people who are already experts. So, for example, if you know someone in Morocco who makes fantastic ras al hanout that’s superior to any you ever had or made, who packs it or has it packed in such a way that it has a long shelf life, I’m interested. Or likewise for any other product.

There are some great vendors at the nyc green markets, and they come up with great local products to sell in the winter- there’s maple sugar from the maple surup vendor, or bell pollen from the honey vendors, or these guys make a pepper salt that is currently sold out but worth an email to see when it’s available or if they’re willing to do wholesale, also these hot sauces


Greenmarket vendors complete list here
https://www.grownyc.org/greenmarket/farmers

Maple sugar, syrop and hand made candies:

A great example of doing one thing and doing it well. Family owned and operated.