Four University of Michigan students have taken their combined love for hot sauce and turned it into a thriving business. Grant Dukus, co-founder of BOMBANANA Hot Sauce stopped by to share the story of how he and his friends came up with their unique banana hot sauce.
Dukus said he and his three senior-year college roommates shared a common love of food. One day, his roommate with fine-dining experience was serving them dinner and decided to experiment with a banana-based hot sauce. Dukus says, “it didn’t take us long to realize we had something special on our hands.”
After refining the recipe and sharing it with friends, they decided to turn their business into a reality, and have been operating for 12 months now.
Dukus explained that the bananas are a unique way to get around using processed and refined sugars. Sweetness of the bananas is subtle, and he says you can taste it somewhat, but it really just enhances the flavor of the chilis.
Dukus has a background in sustainability, and said he and his roommates knew they wanted to be making environmentally conscious decisions with their company. Some of the steps they’ve taken include only using glass bottles, and packaging their orders with recycled materials. “As we grow we’ll continue to monitor and limit our carbon footprint as well as solid waste footprint,” Dukus said
The sauce comes in two flavors, the white label original, and a spicier red label version called the Muy Muy. Dukus says that the original is sweet enough to satisfy anyone who isn’t a fan of heat.
BOMBANANA will ship sauces anywhere in the US from their website, or you can find them in stores like Eatery market in Detroit, and the Produce Station in Ann Arbor.
To find out more about where you can find BOMBANANA Hot Sauce, watch the video above.