SEMO class project heats up to sell more than 150 bottles of Hawk Sauce

This story was originally published Oct. 8 in the Southeast Arrow. It was updated Nov. 8 to reflect the number of Hawk Sauce bottles sold.

Students in the hospitality management program at Southeast Missouri State University are once again cooking up Cape Girardeau favorite Hawk Sauce to meet high consumer demand.

Southeast Missouri State University senior Dennis Settles stirs the ingredients for Hawk Sauce in a large pot in the Chartwell's kitchen Oct. 1. The hot sauce was created as part of a class for the hospitality management program at the university and was sold at Old Town Cape's Riverfront Market and Catapult Creative House in Cape Girardeau. Hawk Sauce will remain on sale at Catapult Creative House while supplies last.

Originally produced in the spring, students initially made about 70 to 80 bottles for an assignment given in a hospitality sales and management class; the project was funded by Alberto Dávila, the dean of the Harrison College of Business and Computing.

Little did they know, the sauce would become a success and sell out quickly at downtown venues such as Catapult Creative House and the Cape Riverfront Market.

This time around, students made about 300 bottles to sell to meet the demands of the public. About 150 of those have already been sold at Catapult Creative House, the Cape Riverfront Market and the Alumni Breakfast before Homecoming.

Director of hospitality management and associate professor Quantella Noto got the idea when her marketing class students had objections to their class project. The original project consisted of students finding a local business and helping them write out a marketing plan. Noto decided it would be more beneficial to students to create and sell their own products.

As she began her research, the idea of hot sauce came to mind.

Bottles of Hawk Sauce are seen for sale Oct. 19 at the Cape Riverfront Market in downtown Cape Girardeau. The hot sauce was created as part of a class for the hospitality management program at Southeast Missouri State University and has been sold at Old Town Cape's Riverfront Market and Catapult Creative House in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

"I was watching some information, watching the news and looking at trends, and I realized that hot sauce is very popular," Noto said. "It outpaces ketchup and salsa as the No. 1 condiment, so I thought maybe we could go into product development for the marketing class."

Senior Becca Kirchner said she likes the idea of a student-run entrepreneurship opportunity such as the one offered in Noto's class.

"I think it gives [the students] a really good entrepreneurial experience of going under that product creation, testing, selling and distribution process," Kirchner said. "It's a good time for them to see a product that they worked really hard on and mass-produce flourish."

The sauce is comprised of Fresno peppers, garlic and smoked paprika, among other ingredients.

Senior Dennis Settles, who helped create the recipe, said the sauce has a unique flavor that develops over time.

"It kind of depends on the batch how hot it can be. We have found that the longer it sits, the more the heat develops," Settles said. "It starts out a little bit sweeter, but gets hotter as it sits."

Noto said when they made the sauce the first time, they used the kitchen in Dearmont Complex on campus. However, with this year's batch being much larger, students had to use Chartwell's kitchen in the University Center.

A three-day-long process, the recipe is completely homemade with all ingredients prepped by students in late September. Using a large-scale pot, the ingredients were cooked down into a sauce before being bottled and labeled in early October.

Noto said she is taking a business approach to this semester's batch, including the possibility of paying students involved in Hawk Sauce creation.

"We're putting together what we hope to be a sustainable business, so we're documenting our labor hours," Noto said. "We've switched sourcing the products a little bit, so it is a more efficient and less costly place to purchase. So we're putting the pieces together so as students move in and out of the program, we already have it all together and just put new people in place."

As of now, no profits have been made from the sauce because the original intent of the sauce was for a class project. However, Noto expects to soon see profits rise given the increased quantity of bottles, high demand of the public and a more complete business model.

Production of Hawk Sauce is planned to continue in the spring semester, when the production team will look into creating different flavors, according to Noto. Production dates, quantity and other details have not been confirmed.

The licensing agreement currently held by the program will not allow the sale of Hawk Sauce to local businesses, however, Noto said local restaurants and hotels have shown interest in purchasing the sauce to sell to customers and guests.

The 5-ounce woozy bottles sell for $10 each. All proceeds go to the hospitality management program to fund scholarships and other resources the program needs. Hawk Sauce is still for sale at Catapult Creative House while supplies last.