jojo's story

Hi, I'm Jojo!

I started making Jojo's Sriracha back in 2010 while I was living in Denver, Colorado. I was 26, which made me old enough to know I wasn’t taking care of my body but still young enough to try and do something about it. I took refined sugar out of my diet for a month and started reading food labels and learning about what I put in (and on) my body. I tossed out all my conventional beauty products and made my own instead, keeping one rule in mind: if you wouldn’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin. The month following I signed up for a yoga teacher training which included an Ayurvedic cleanse. My life was forever changed…

These experiences completely transformed the way I looked at food forever - including the ingredient list of sugar and preservatives in my favorite condiment - sriracha. I decided that instead of missing out, I’d just make my own. What I came up with wasn’t just the answer to my personal dilemma, but the sriracha that many others had been waiting for: high quality ingredients, no preservatives, very little sugar and damn delicious.

We’re a tiny company, often a crew of two or three, but have had the good fortune to create something truly noteworthy with big reach. Jojo’s Sriracha has been featured in Sriracha, the documentary and on The Cooking Channel. I’ve been filmed by Liza de Guia, a James Beard award-winning food documentarian and had the privilege of collaborating with Joel Peterson, founding winemaker of Ravenswood Winery, on our wine-infused sriracha. Since moving our production from shared kitchens in Brooklyn to our own 323 sq. ft. commercial kitchen in Denver, we have worked closely with farms in both Colorado and New Mexico to create a unique green chili sriracha that is indicative of the region. Did I mention it’s awesome?

Not only does sriracha not have to be full of sugar and preservatives, it also doesn’t have to be made solely from red chilis. Our Ravenswood and green chili srirachas are great examples of the complexity and concentration of flavor that come form the alchemy of great ingredients, fermentation and care.

Why is my company called love hard, inc.? 

My motto is "love hard, give a fuck." First and foremost it is a reminder for myself to love my life's work. This isn't to say that every day is easy. In fact, most weeks are a pretty good mix of high-highs and low-lows. But I know I've only got one ticket in this life - so I might as well spent it doing something I love hard and give a fuck about. After all, that's the whole fucking point...