One of America's Fastest-Growing Industries? Hot Sauce

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As Americans steadily become more adventuresome eaters, we are now setting a place at the dinner table for hot sauce on a regular basis. Our mealtime macho has triggered a hot sauce growth spurt so great that hot sauce production has been rated one of the 10 fastest-growing industries in the U.S., according to a new report. The trend shows no sign of cooling off.

IBISWorld, an industry and market research organization, recently compiled a list of the 10 industries that they expect to outpace the rest of the U.S. economy through 2017. Hot sauce production came in at No. 7, sandwiched between social network game development and green and sustainable building production.

By 2017, hot sauce production in the U.S. is expected to be a $1.3 billion industry, led by the McIlhenny Co.'s iconic Tabasco sauce.

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The industry has been heating up for the past 10 years, with average annual revenue growth of 9.3 percent a year, IBISWorld said. Demand for hot sauce has been driven by demographic consumption trends, immigration and international demand from Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan.

"Demand from supermarkets and grocery stores has reflected the change in consumer taste, and food retailers are dedicating more shelf space to ethnic cuisines," the report said. "Ethnic supermarkets —also growing rapidly — more prominently offer a variety of hot sauces than more traditional sauces."

Though hot sauce was not immune to the slowdown caused by the recession, rebounds in 2010 and 2011 re-established it as a rapidly growing part of the food sector. Over the next five years, IBISWorld estimates, industry revenue will grow at an average annual rate of 4.1 percent.

Other industries winning a spot of IBISWorld's top 10 list were generic pharmaceutical manufacturing, solar panel manufacturing, for-profit universities, Pilates and yoga studios, self-tanning product manufacturing, 3D printer manufacturing and online eyeglasses and contact lens sales.

This story was provided by BusinessNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Reach BusinessNewsDaily senior writer Ned Smith at nsmith@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter @nedbsmith.