From a garden in North Carolina to shelves nationwide
"Start here."
Six-year-old Elijah stood in his father's garden and asked how he could become the youngest person to eat the world's hottest pepper. His dad, Bret, handed him a hot banana pepper and said, "Start here." That first bite sent Elijah running for water — and kicked off a lifelong love of hot peppers and hot sauce.
Three years of trial & error
After trying every sauce he could find, Elijah asked his dad if they could make their own — better tasting, hotter. It took more than three years of handcrafted batches to get the recipe right. Late in the summer of 2013 they nailed the balance of heat and flavor and sent out over 100 samples. Everyone said the same thing.
“It's hot, but has great flavor!”
Goal: accomplished
That same summer, 16-year-old Elijah met Smokin' Ed Currie at PuckerButt Pepper Company in Fort Mill, SC — and ate the Carolina Reaper®, the world's hottest pepper. Ten years after that first banana pepper, he met his goal. His review: "Never again. That hurt for 24 hours." And Bret had a name: Elijah's Xtreme.
Elijah's Xtreme is born
Ghost Pepper Sauce officially launched in June 2014. By August the duo landed their first account — Bass Pro Shops, nationwide — where Elijah's Xtreme has been a top seller ever since.
Just getting started
Elijah graduated business school in 2020 and now runs the business alongside his father. A decade in, Elijah's Xtreme is the biggest hot sauce brand on TikTok — with award-winning hot sauces, beef jerky, hot honey, and an official Yellowstone partnership. Every case that leaves our Charlotte, NC fulfillment center still carries a recipe the two of us built by hand.
