(05/16/23) BATON ROUGE, La. —The LSU AgCenter Food Innovation Institute aims to help small, Louisiana entrepreneurs start food businesses. But recently FOODii worked with the legendary, Louisiana-based TABASCO® Brand on testing and bottling the brand’s latest product innovation.
Tabasco teamed up with digital content creator Tinx to launch a limited-edition dressing. TABASCO® Brand x TINX Avocado Jalapeño Hot Sauce Dressing made its debut in February, but not before passing through FOODii’s bottling line.
“We were pleased to provide our resources to Tabasco, and the company’s employees who joined us at the plant to run the line were top notch,” said Gaye Sandoz, director of FOODii.
Food scientists with FOODii and faculty with the LSU AgCenter School of Nutrition and Food Sciences also worked with Tabasco’s team to test the dressing’s shelf life.
“We all played different roles to get it done,” said food scientist Ashley Gutierrez. “It was a team effort of FOODii and the LSU School of Nutrition and Food Sciences to help one of the best known food companies in Louisiana.
Gutierrez worked alongside fellow food scientists Yupeng Gao, Evelyn Watts and Chuck Boeneke to test the formulation. She said when TABASCO® Brand x TINX Avocado Jalapeño Hot Sauce Dressing launched it was exciting to see it become the hottest selling dressing on Amazon that day.
“I’m proud of this project. It showcases how we can collaborate with and support local food companies,” Gutierrez said.
Tony Barber, FOODii technical maintenance superintendent, helps clients run FOODii’s bottling line. He said the Tabasco team was a well-oiled machine.
The bottling line opened two years ago, and Barber said they run four or five products through it a year.
“The LSU AgCenter FOODii bottling plant’s mission is to assist Louisiana food companies in using it as either a pilot plant for producing a new product or scaling up from our incubator facility until they grow and have enough volume to produce at a copacker,” Sandoz said.
The TABASCO® Brand x TINX Avocado Jalapeño Hot Sauce Dressing is available online at Tabasco’s website or on Amazon.
LSU AgCenter Food Innovations Institute worked with TABASCO® Brand on testing and bottling TABASCO® Brand x TINX Avocado Jalapeño Hot Sauce Dressing. Photo provided by TABASCO® Brand
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture