Today we’d like to introduce you to Shawn And Mel Frazier.
Hi Shawn and Mel , thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Melissa and I have been married for 18 beautiful years. We first met through a mutual friend at church in New Jersey. After the service, I walked over and introduced myself and, according to my version of the story, she fell in love with me right then and there! (Though she might tell you it took a little longer.)
We dated for two years and got married in 2007. For our honeymoon, we spent two unforgettable weeks in Hawaii. From hiking through lush waterfalls to driving the winding 64-mile Road to Hana, we discovered early on how much joy, adventure, and peace we found in simply being TOGETHER. That trip felt like the beginning of a lifetime filled with love, laughter, and shared dreams.
Over the years, we’ve built so many meaningful memories that it’s hard to pick just one. But if we had to, we’d go with our very first date. It was one of those rare, divine moments when everything just aligned. There was a quiet certainty between us, we both knew we had found something truly special. And with faith as our foundation, we’ve spent every year since building a life rooted in love, trust, and partnership.
That same spirit of love, adventure, and togetherness is what eventually inspired us to start our hot sauce company and consulting business. Just like our relationship, it started with a SPARK, something we were passionate about and believed in. And now, we’re pouring that same heart and soul into every bottle we make and every relationship we have.
We have two boys who attend Wayne Christian school, Connor and Landon Frazier. Connor’s favorite subject is Math. He loves playing baseball and football. He has also developed a love for Pickle Ball, like his dad. He loves attending Youth Night’s with his friends at Stoney Creek church and his favorite period at school is “Chapel” because it is the one place that brings everyone together. Landon’s loves theater and loves to sing. His favorite period in school is Chapel and his favorite subject is Science. He enjoys chapel because he can sing using his voice and he always leaves inspired. Landon believes that every day is a chance to rewrite a new play and story. “So live your best life, smile and be joyful”.
Shawn loves the process of growth which is how he developed a passion for gardening. “I love the feel of the soil, the cool mornings before the day starts and following the growth process from seed to product”. My family’s garden has become my sanctuary and the place that I visit for clarity and vision for my day and my family. I expanded the garden this year to accommodate the demand for HotSauce and to explore new produce. This year we tried something new and grew Loofah. We also grew Sugar Baby Watermelons, Squash, Strawberries, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Onions, Garlic and of course peppers. Our newest pepper added to the pepper garden is a rare pepper called the Charapita. It’s a wild and expensive Peruvian Chili.
I serve as the online campus pastor at ICWW, where I have the opportunity to keep those living in other states or may not be able to join our campus connected and inspired through Sunday morning huddles prior to the online worship experience, virtual small groups and family check ins. I am a very relational person and love people.
I have recently developed a love for PickleBall. My wife and I played for the first time while we were away during our anniversary and that has become a part of our weekly family fun.
Melissa is currently embracing the deeply fulfilling season of being a devoted wife and stay-at-home mom, while also actively running the family’s businesses alongside her husband. Finding joy in creating a happy, peaceful home and is passionate about helping other wives and mothers live with purpose, peace, and fullness. Melissa values the quiet power of ‘Sabbath moments”, intentional pauses of rest and reflection each in day. A lover of prayer, writing, and journaling, she weaves faith and creativity into both her personal life and her work. For her, success is measured not just in business achievements, but in the well-being of her family and the lives she encourages along the way.
Curt’s Heat Hot Sauces was born from a blend of passion, patience, and big faith. While our small, family-owned and operated business officially celebrated its first year in September, the story truly began more than a decade ago. My husband Shawn has been crafting hot sauce recipes for over 10 years experimenting in our kitchen, growing peppers, refining flavors, and sharing bottles with friends and family long before we ever imagined launching a brand.
For years, Curt’s Heat was more of a labor of love than a business plan. But in 2024, we felt a clear nudge to take a leap of faith and turn what had been a passion into a purpose-driven company. The “spark” was realizing that this wasn’t just about heat it was about creating something we could build together as a family, something rooted in quality, legacy, and community.
All of our sauces are hand crafted with ingredients from our family’s garden giving robust flavors directly from vine to bottle.
Since launching, we’ve had the honor of getting people “#Curtified” through our online store, at vendor events, and through partnerships with local retailers and wholesalers. Every bottle represents not only bold flavor, but our commitment to growing our own peppers, supporting local, and creating a product that brings people together around the table.
Curt’s Heat isn’t just hot sauce, it’s our story, our faith in action, and our way of sharing something special with the world.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Like most small businesses, the road has definitely not been smooth or easy, but every challenge has shaped who we are today and we’ve learned a lot.
One of our biggest struggles was simply learning how to move from a passion project into a legitimate business. We had to navigate permits, food safety regulations, labeling requirements, insurance, and production logistics; all while still working our regular jobs, raising a family, caring for elderly parents, a grandmother who recently passed and still being serving leaders. There were moments when the process felt overwhelming and slow, especially when all we wanted to do was get our product into people’s hands and on their dinner tables.
Another challenge was learning how to scale without losing our heart. Growing peppers, sourcing ingredients, and maintaining consistency while demand increased forced us to become more organized and intentional. We also had to step outside our comfort zones by learning new ways of product marketing, building a website, attending smaller vendor events, and pitching to retailers. We are so grateful to have had prior experience in those areas so it’s a gift to have those skills transferred over from our corporate experience to our family business.
Financially, starting a small business always requires BIG sacrifice. There were seasons where we reinvested everything back into the company, trusted God with the timing, and reminded ourselves that growth doesn’t always happen overnight.
But through it all, those struggles strengthened our faith, our marriage, our family and our commitment to building something meaningful and a legacy. We’ve learned that the challenges weren’t setbacks, they were part of the preparation.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Curt’s Heat Hot Sauces is a small, family-owned and operated hot sauce company built on bold flavor, garden quality ingredients, and a deep belief in doing things the right way; not the fast way.
What we do is simple in concept but intentional in execution: we create handcrafted hot sauces using peppers we grow ourselves, carefully blended to deliver heat with purpose and flavor with depth. We don’t believe hot sauce should just burn, it should enhance every bite. Our sauces are designed to be versatile enough for everyday meals while still exciting enough for true heat lovers.
What we specialize in is garden flavor-forward heat sauces that balance pure heat, spice, sweetness, and tang, so that no one note overpowers the other. Whether you’re a beginner sweet heat lover or an extreme spice lover , Curt’s Heat offers something that brings people together around the table. We’re always grateful when our family is invited to your family’s dinner table.
What sets us apart is not just what’s in the bottle, but who we are behind it. We are deeply involved in EVERY step of the process; from growing peppers, to crafting recipes, to bottling, to designing labels and marketing materials. To personally selling at events and partnering with local retailers. That hands-on, family-driven approach gives our brand authenticity and consistency you can taste.
Brand-wise, we are most proud of the community that has grown around Curt’s Heat. The #GetCurtified and #StayCurtified movement started as fun hashtags but has become a way people identify with our product and our story. Seeing customers come back again and again, share our sauces with friends, and seek us out at events is incredibly humbling.
What we want readers to know most is that Curt’s Heat isn’t just a hot sauce company, it’s a story of faith, perseverance, purpose, hope and legacy. Every bottle represents years of refining, risk-taking, and believing that something small can grow into something impactful. When you support Curt’s Heat, you’re not just buying a sauce; you’re supporting a family, a dream, and a commitment to quality and community.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
One surprising thing most people don’t know about Curt’s Heat is that our hot sauce journey didn’t just produce bottles, it also produced a book.
While many people know we grow our own peppers, what they often don’t realize is that we also grow our own garlic, and that the garden has become more than just our supply source, it became a place of reflection, prayer, and creativity. As Shawn spent time tending the garden, he began writing daily devotionals inspired by what he was learning through planting, waiting, pruning, and harvesting.
Those moments eventually led to his first published book, Plant, Grow, Ignite; which connects faith, personal growth, and the lessons found in cultivating both soil and spirit. In many ways, the book and the hot sauce are deeply connected; they both were born from patience, intentionality, and a belief that growth happens long before results are visible.
So Curt’s Heat isn’t just about heat and flavor it’s also about cultivating purpose, nurturing faith, and allowing something as simple as a garden to spark creativity, healing, and inspiration. We Invite people over to the garden often to experience peace, to have fun, learn and grow!
Pricing:
- Curt’s Heat Hot $12.00
- Curt’s Heat Medium $12.00
- Curt’s Sweet Heat $14.00
- Plant, Grow, Ignite by Shawn Frazier $15.00
- Curt’s Heat Inferno Pure Heat Seasoning $25
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.curtsheat.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/curts_heat
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/186iNe3rRD/
- Other: https://www.curtsheat.com/blogs/news/welcome-to-curt-s-heat-hot-sauces
