Tapatio finally made it to its 50th anniversary as a worldwide used hot sauce. Tapatio signifies a person originating from Guadalajara, a city in the heart of Mexico. This name relates to all the children who were born in Guadalajara, Mexico. People from the western Mexican city are often called Tapatio. The founder Jose Saavedra decided to use the name Tapatio in honor of his kids. But this name was not the first Saavedra decided to name his hot sauce. The initial name was Cuervo. Dolores Saavedra had a direct relation with the family Jose Cuero tequila, so they thought it was a catchy family name. Soon after the alcohol company sued them for the right to sell and advertise their tequila in California. After that they tried to name it Charro but got sued again, finally landing with the name Tapatio.
Jose Luis Saavedra was born June 22nd 1935. Saavedra worked two part time jobs while pushing hot sauce in order to make rent for his wife and three kids. He began making hot sauce with his family in the 1960s. Sadly was initially laid off due to recession. Having no other choice he had to focus on his side hustle making hot sauce, Saavedra also didn’t have business background or any great knowledge of the English language. Every bottle of hot sauce was originally made by him; he would bottle the hot sauce himself using a funnel. Caps and Labels were placed by hand. Though Saavedra worked alone, it was never like that once his three kids got to a certain age he would take them to help him.
By 1971 the industry of Tapatio was introduced to the world. Saavedra leased a 750 square foot building in the city of Maywood California. After many years off growth he decided that it was time to purchase a bigger warehouse. Tapatio had officially moved into a new 8,500 square foot warehouse. In 1998 Tapatio was crossing over and becoming a staple in American households. With so much growth the demand for larger size bottles was high. The 10 oz. bottle was introduced. Tapatios growth surprised many competitors. With increased popularity they introduced the quart size (32 oz.) bottle shortly after becoming an instant success. Jose Saavedra became a nationwide leader of the hot sauce industry.
Tapatio received many requests to sell in a large container. Saavedra came through again and introduced the gallon size. This became very popular in the food industries, amusement parks, and sporting arenas. After thousands of requests for Tapatio packets the company answered the needs of its consumers again. The seven gram packets allowed fast food restaurants to offer their customers Tapatio hot sauce in individual serving sizes. In 2006 Tapatio celebrated 35 years of providing high quality hot sauce. Sadly in 2013 Jose Saavedra passed away.
Till this day all three of his kids work for the company. This year 2023 Tapatio is celebrating their 50th anniversary. Came out with a limited edition 50th anniversary red edition box with a Fluffy bottle of hot sauce. Fluffy is a famous comedian and a big fan of the hot sauce. The history of this company and the growth is amazing.