Dry rubs and seasoning

Of everything next to hot sauce, a dry rub is the least regulated and the simplest to add.

The easiest adjacent product

A dry blend has a water activity low enough that it is not an acidified food and does not need a scheduled process. In many states it falls within cottage food provisions that a sauce does not.

That makes it the natural first extension, and it is also the one most likely to be permitted while you are still waiting on the paperwork for the sauce.

Using what you already have

Strainer pulp from sauce production, dried and ground, is a rub. It is the most concentrated material in the batch and producers often discard it.

Dry it properly: brittle, not leathery, and at low heat, because scorched pepper turns bitter and that is irreversible. Grind close to packing, since ground chili loses aroma quickly.

Packaging and clumping

Moisture is the enemy. A rub packed slightly damp cakes into a solid block within weeks, and the customer reads that as a defect.

Dry thoroughly, pack in something that seals, and consider a desiccant for a hygroscopic blend. A shaker fitment is the usual closure and it needs a wide enough opening that a coarse grind does not block it.

Salt and sugar content drive clumping as much as ambient humidity, so a sugar-heavy rub is the one to test over a month before committing to packaging.

Labeling

Ingredient statement in descending order by weight, allergens where present, net weight rather than volume, and the usual name and address.

Watch the allergen question: a rub made on the same equipment as a product containing sesame or mustard picks up a cross contact issue that a sauce in a separate vessel might not.

References