Charleston's own Red Clay Hot Sauce was recognized by Forbes Tuesday for shifting to more direct-to-consumer sales during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the magazine, "Red Clay Hot Sauce closed April 2020 with more than 3.5 times the gross revenue from April 2019. Founded in 2014, the brand, which in before times primarily sold to restaurants, has focused on direct-to-consumer sales in recent months, launching on Amazon at around the same time many shelter-in-place orders went into effect."
[content-1] Asked about the Amazon launch, Red Clay CEO Molly Fienning said, "Amazon is an important sales channel for us, and we're learning how to optimize it more and more every day. It's not our largest wholesale partner yet, but there's a good chance it will be soon as a growing number of people want groceries delivered to their front doors."
At the onset of the pandemic, Red Clay contributed 15 percent of their online sales locally to the Pay It Forward campaign. Fienning knows Charleston's support and the company's local-first mentality has allowed them to succeed.
"It is both exciting and energizing to see our team's hard work pay off with pieces like today's article on Forbes.com," she said. "Charleston, both its community and its restaurants, has been so supportive of Red Clay for years, and we're most grateful for that."
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