What is the 8th fastest growing industry in America?

It's no secret that the American manufacturing sector has been losing out to foreign competitors over the past 60 years. Whether it is anything from autos (this graph of personal vehicle production market share loss is amazing) to electronics, we just don't have the ability to manufacture products as cheaply or efficiently. But really, that's OK; we shouldn't be trying to compete in (arguably) commodity-like manufacturing businesses where low cost wins. Instead, Econ 101 tells us that we should focus on sectors were we have a comparative advantage and trade for the goods where we don't. (boom, everyone wins!)

Therefore, it really warmed my heart today to see a video today about one of the fastest growing industries in AMERICA. Looks like not only are we focusing on an extremely high value-add sector and churning out product at a rate high enough to fill demand domestically, but we are also exporting it across the globe.

So without further ado, I present the 8th fastest growing industry in America*:

HOT SAUCE, with 150% revenue growth (9.3% CAGR) over the past 10 years!

And the other good news is that Hot Sauce is likely going to be the savior of the American economy from here on out, because it basically is like crack (great biz model): Highly addictive, people develop tolerance so will need more and more to get their fix in the future, exciting advances in pepper design leading to ever hotter (yet still tasty) sauces, etc. All we need now to accelerate future growth is to develop a smartphone app and get hot sauce integrated into Facebook. Once this occurs (and FYI I've already begun planning/designing this, so don't even think about stealing this idea), the US economy will get back on track and we can all go back to buying cheap cars and TVs from Asia. 

The video is worth watching in its entirety, but five highlights include:

1) the founder of Blair's (one of my favorite hot sauce producers as regular readers would know) suggesting that in 5-10 years "Hot sauce will be like Coke", and that "it'll be more appropriate to eat a meal with hot sauce, than without hot sauce". Also interesting to know he got his start working in a bar, and developed really hot sauce to put on wings and burn up patrons (late at night, so presumably they were drunk/obnoxious) in order to get them to leave.

2) the little professor dude calling hot sauce "benign masochism"

3) the fun fact that kids undergo a transformation (think spiderman) between the ages of 4-6 where they start to begin liking hot sauce

4) Tabasco exports 50% of its products, while Blair exports 75% of its products (still room for growth domestically!)

5) The CBS reporter is a total wuss, and is unable to try the 2nd hot sauce (says he has to "blow his nose" and runs off camera... clearly to go cry)

(Note: I apologize for the 15 second advert in the video, I am not taking a stand one way or another on the validity of "Romney Economics" )




* (according to IBISWorld, where knowledge is power) PDF:
http://www.ibisworld.com/mediacenter/pdf.aspx?file=Fastest+Growing+Industries.pdf