“These are cool ways to get the city together and get them talking, get the Internet going, and get the news to cover it,” Ajluni said.
What experts say
Susan Harrow, a media trainer and author who has developed a specialty in getting authors and book publishers the attention of Oprah Winfrey—“the original influencer” as Harrow describes her—said she was impressed with Truff’s approach to marketing.
“They have great branding in that it’s consistent across all mediums. It comes off as designer food. And it’s consistent on all fronts in terms of being gorgeous, slick, gourmet,” Harrow said. “And I think they’re brilliant in doing these videos that show you how to use the product in a lot of innovative and interesting ways. They offer recipes and restaurateurs who speak for them, so they’ve done a great job in the referral and recommendation market that we’re in today.”
Harrow said her perusal of the Truff brand online revealed what she would consider only one drawback—she didn’t get a sense right away that the brand had a charitable purpose. “One thing that consumers really want from their brands today is a message of giving back, especially food brands, with food insecurity being such an issue today,” she said.
(The brand has participated in charitable endeavors, including a red-labeled product to support (RED), the AIDS charity, pledging $50,000 to a fund supporting health programs in sub-Saharan Africa).
Competitors in the space—top-selling brands like McCormick & Co.-owned Cholula and Frank’s RedHot; McIlhenny Co.’s Tabasco; and TW Garner Food’s Texas Pete, may see Truff as something of an ally in supporting price and growing the category—at least for now, said NielsenIQ's Criezis. But it may only be a matter of time before Truff's growth might encourage those brands to protect share behind “copycat” brands or even express interest in an acquisition.
“When it becomes meaningful from a revenue perspective, oftentimes brands will look for an acquisition,” said Criezis. “Look at Coke's acquisition of BodyArmor recently; or Mondelēz buying the vegan chocolate brand Hu, which was all over Whole Foods.”
What's next
Truff’s move to retail was important not only to take advantage of its rapid growth but also to develop efficient trade channels for new products the company has since developed. These include Truff-branded mayonnaises, pasta sauces and truffle oil—all of which share the truffle ingredient story, the slick packaging design and chef-sanctioned online content of the hot sauce. The difference? They’re smaller sellers but heavier items—and therefore more expensive and inefficient to ship.
“When you’re shipping glass, online is not your first choice,” Ajluni said. “So the grocery store is where the market is.”
Guillen said the brand wouldn’t likely stray into categories that deviate from the inspiration of the Instagram community that gave birth to Truff. Longer term, he envisions a brand that’s earned a big audience—but still “got sauce.”
“I think we want to continue to let Truff's voice, and Truff's brand, be cool,” he said. “We want this to be a brand that if Nick and I are on the golf course in 40 years, our kids and grandkids are using it. It’s become a household staple.”