Crystal is not coming back

[Mayhaw Man]

Damn shame, that.

I've known about this for a bit, but it was really hard to get any real info so I haven't posted about it. Today's business section in the Picayune has the scoop on the demise (at least at their current location) of Baumer Foods, makers of Crystal Brand Hot Sauce.

http://www.nola.com/business/t-p/index.ssf...48228129420.xml

If you see it-buy it. Might be a while before you see anymore. This is all very sad and it just seems to keep on coming. "Bad news on the doorstep" is what we get every morning, these days.

[Jason Perlow]

Oh my god. That's a major, major tragedy. Its not like Tabasco is even a similar product to Crystal either.

Is there anything that can even come close to taking its place?

[oggi]

I agree - there's really nothing like it. It really is unto itself, and Tabasco is just not the same.

Fortunately, from the article, it sounds like long term it will be there - it's just gonna be a while before its back in mass production.

I definitely agree- stock up if you can!!!!!!

[Jake]

I cannot possibly live without my Crystal. It is the best, imho! Will be stocking up for sure.

[TAPrice]

This is more bad news for the city's economy and it just kills me that the great sign is leaving, but is there really an issue with supply of the hot sauce? The T-P suggests the very opposite. Four other companies are bottling the hot sauce and supplies are just now arriving at grocery stores.

Brooks, do you know something that the T-P isn't reporting? Should I buy up all the bottles in Dallas?

[Mayhaw Man]

This is more bad news for the city's economy and it just kills me that the great sign is leaving, but is there really an issue with supply of the hot sauce? The T-P suggests the very opposite. Four other companies are bottling the hot sauce and supplies are just now arriving at grocery stores.

Brooks, do you know something that the T-P isn't reporting? Should I buy up all the bottles in Dallas?

←

You should buy hot sauce, anyway. Here's the deal as I understand it:

As you know, pepper sauce is an aged product-which means that you take the raw material (in this case peppers from New Mexico, Texas, and North Louisiana) and turn it into the goo that eventually becomes the delicious piquant flavor that is Crystal. Well, they lost the stock from the fall that they already had mashed up and aging, and there are no more peppers to be had, so, I am led to believe (and it makes sense to me) that no matter where they are making it, it will be next fall before they can really start cranking out the real magilla.

I hope that someone here can correct me, but this seems to be the general consensus for all of us that know a little bit-which is generally all I know about anything anyway.

[TAPrice]

I'll buy all that I can. Maybe I can use bottles of Crystals to bribe the Zulu's for a coconut.

[slkinsey]

Most likely, this is a kind of thing where they bottle a whole bunch of the sauce and then they bottle other things for a while and then they do another run of the sauce, etc. This is more or less set forth in the final sentence of the article, which says "although Baumer posted $54 million in revenue in 2004, a large percentage of it was private-label bottling for other clients." (Emphasis mine.) Baumer, of course, also bottled all kinds of things under its own label besides hot sauce.

My guess is that they lost some stock in the storm, but didn't lose all or even a substantial percentage of it. If Crystal's process is anything liks Tabasco's process, they're aging the mash for multiple years. That makes it somewhat unlikely to me that they had a year's worth of fermenting product sitting around in barrels at the bottling plant. This supposition is reinforced by the article when it says, "Four different companies are bottling the hot sauce" and "[baumer] will continue using private bottlers until he can build a new plant or buy and retrofit an existing building" and "though the sauces have been off shelves for several weeks, Baumer Foods began distribution to Publix Grocery Stores in Florida last week and will begin deliveries to local Winn-Dixie Stores this week." These things all suggest to me that their problem is the need for a new bottling facility rather than catastrophic loss of stock (although I am sure they did lose some stock).

This is all good news, I think, for people who hope to see Crystal hot sauce back on supermarket shelves soon.

The article also makes it somewhat clear that the eventual departure of the Baumer plant from Orleans Parish was a foregone conclusion, hurricane or no: "Baumer has been seeking a new location for its plant for about a year."

[Mayhaw Man]

Most likely, this is a kind of thing where they bottle a whole bunch of the sauce and then they bottle other things for a while and then they do another run of the sauce, etc.  This is more or less set forth in the final sentence of the article, which says "although Baumer posted $54 million in revenue in 2004, a large percentage of it was private-label bottling for other clients." (Emphasis mine.)  Baumer, of course, also bottled all kinds of things under its own label besides hot sauce.

My guess is that they lost some stock in the storm, but didn't lose all or even a substantial percentage of it.  If Crystal's process is anything liks Tabasco's process, they're aging the mash for multiple years.  That makes it somewhat unlikely to me that they had a year's worth of fermenting product sitting around in barrels at the bottling plant.  This supposition is reinforced by the article when it says, "Four different companies are bottling the hot sauce" and "[baumer] will continue using private bottlers until he can build a new plant or buy and retrofit an existing building" and "though the sauces have been off shelves for several weeks, Baumer Foods began distribution to Publix Grocery Stores in Florida last week and will begin deliveries to local Winn-Dixie Stores this week."  These two things suggest to me that they are mostly in need of a new bottling facility (although I am sure they did lose some stock).

This is all good news, I think, for people who hope to see Crystal hot sauce back on supermarket shelves soon.

The article also makes it somewhat clear that the departure of the Baumer plant from New Orleans Parish was a foregone conclusion, hurricane or no: "Baumer has been seeking a new location for its plant for about a year."

←

Well, the first thing is that I have spent, over the years, a fair amount of time in that fine, state of the art, 1945 facility. They make all kinds of stuff including, still, lots of stuff for the military and for overseas government contractors. Jelly, hot sauces, picante sauce, mustards, worchestershire (really good, actually), and lord knows what else. Their label room was amazing. So many products, so many languages on them, pretty incredible really. All of this can be made anywhere I guess, but the process is substancially different than Tabasco, in that it is aged in bulk and I don't think for nearly as long. I know where some of the tanks are on the property, and I am assuming that no matter how deep the flood, that some of it would have survived, but you need to consider that for the MONTH after the storm it was as hot as hell here and as dry as the Sahara. I don't know that those big aging tanks (temp controlled) would have done very well. On the other hand, it might be the biggest, baddest batch of hot sauce in recorded history-who knows?

I am trying, have been trying as a matter of fact, to get ahold of some guys that I know that ran the bottling lines there to see what the deal is-but they all lived in St Bernard and well, they ain't there no mo'-as is often the case here these days.

I'll let ya'll know what I find out.

[pennbrew]

FWIW, we have and have had since Katrina plenty of Crystal on the grocery store shelves here in NE Pennsylvania. I guess usage here is so low that the normal inventory here is ample.

I'm still consuming my share...

---Guy

[maggiethecat]

Take it -- take another little piece of my heart. I bought a bottle of Crystal yesterday and will make it my mission to snap up every bottle in the Chicago suburbs. Dammit dammit dammit.

[TAPrice]

Looks like the hot sauce will be arriving soon:

The 82-year-old company has operated in the city for decades, but Katrina destroyed the plant and offices of the condiment bottler and shipper.

Since that time, most retailers haven't been able to get shipments of Crystal hot sauce, but Hanes said that within two weeks he expects vendors to begin receiving shipments.

The Times-Picayune has the full story.

[TAPrice]

Baumer food has found a new plant in St. John Parish. It's still in the metro area at least. They will use the New Orleans facility as a warehouse and the iconic sign will stay put for the immediate future.

The T-P has the full story.

[ludja]

Baumer food has found a new plant in St. John Parish. It's still in the metro area at least. They will use the New Orleans facility as a warehouse and the iconic sign will stay put for the immediate future.

The T-P has the full story.

←

Sounds like pretty good news, as far as I can tell.

For posterity, if article access changes:

The company owns the Tulane building and may use it as a warehouse. Its huge iconic, art deco sign, whose iron posts are anchored in the building, will remain in New Orleans for now. Baumer said he toyed with the idea of moving the sign to the Reserve site — and still may — but will probably end up repairing the sign and leaving it as an advertisement.

…

Baumer said several municipalities, and even other states, solicited Baumer to relocate his operation.

Asked about what incentives they offered, Baumer said, “It never got that far because I wasn’t going to leave” the metro area, he said.

Baumer said he was insistent that the plant remain in the New Orleans metropolitan area.

“We are very committed to the New Orleans area and its people. Our customers are local, national and international and are very loyal and we are doing everything we can to make sure our products are back on the shelves and in restaurants for them,” Baumer said.

Edited February 21, 2006 by ludja (log)

[Bill Miller]

Things must be better--we bought Crystal in College Station, Texas last week at a Kroger.