K-drama on our plate

The world is in the middle of a hot-sauce craze. It’s making India hot for chilli too. There’s a Korean twist to the tale. But don’t confuse it for the real thing

- VIR SANGHVI

It was Viraj Bahl who put it best: The two big rages in India right now, he told me, are wellness and chilli.

I am sure Viraj is right about wellness, though I don’t know much about the subject. But he is certainly bang on when it comes to the chilli craze. And he has put his money where his mouth is. Veeba, the condiment company he founded, has invested heavily in a new range of hot sauces and they are flying off the shelves.

It's a trend that has spread.

Maggi, a well-respected brand with no distinctive record of risky innovation in India, is also launching new products, most of which seem to include the word 'spicy' in the name: Spicy Garlic Noodles and Spicy Pepper Noodles are just two examples.

Viraj, who also runs a noodle brand, says that the formula for success in today’s market is to make it spicy. “India has fallen in love with chilli all over again,” he explains. “There is a new generation that just wants spice and chilli.”

The trend is not restricted to India. At the UK's Tesco chain, Sriracha is selling so well that sales are up by 65% over last year. Ocado, the online UK retailer, says that sales of chilli sauces have increased by 10% and searches for Korean hot sauce are up by an astonishing 850%. The US is experiencing a similar boom with new hotter sauces being launched each year.