Craig Kaiser - Cry Baby Craigs Hot Sauce
What started as a simple recipe became a way to bring people together—around tables, in kitchens, at restaurants, and at community events. In 2012 Craig Kaiser an operator of a French/Mediterranean restaurant received a shipment of habanero peppers unsuitable for the restaurant's cuisine yet doomed to soil if returned. Craig pickled the peppers and let them sit for several months in the cooler. One night stumbling into the jar in the back of the walk-in cooler, Craig blended the habaneros, garlic into what is now known as the hot sauce bottled here in Faribault today.
For the next several years this pickled habanero garlic hot sauce caught fire in neighborhoods, in un-labeled bottles without a name. The name came one night as Craig, his wife and recently newborn baby Craig Jr. were at home. Craig Jr. started crying, and the idea as they seemed to light up the idea bulb. "let's call it Cry Baby Craig's, and see if this hot sauce can support Jr. some diaper or even college."
In 2015 Cry Baby Craig's manufacturing process was approved by the FDA. Currently, it is the only company approved to use fresh ingredients and is shelf-stable without using cooking or pasteurizing. It is the only known pickled hot sauce in the world. Craig prides himself and his business model "If you take care of the world, the world will take care of you." Cry Baby Craig's works with all local family farmers for its product ingredients. In 2025, they had 3-8 employees depending on seasons of harvest and produced 21,000 gallons of Cry Baby Craig's.
To hear more about Craig Kaisers' story, community engagements, or to purchase some of his delicious products. Check out their website: https://crybabycraigs.com/ 
