It happens for just a few seconds — a small, inconspicuous bottle of sauce with a green label is visible on screen. If you blink, you might miss it. But Vince Press caught it.
“It was a surprise to us to tell you the truth,” said Press, whose official title is Hot Takes Lead for Karma Sauce, a Rochester-based, small batch hot sauce company.
The brief cameo of one of their sauces, Lift Off, happens around the 27-minute mark of the new Adam Sandler comedy, “Happy Gilmore 2.” The scene is a spoof of the popular YouTube show “Hot Ones,” where guests answer interview questions while sampling increasingly spicy sauces.
In the film, “Hot Ones” host Sean Evans plays himself, interviewing fictional golf villain Frank Manatee. On the table is a collection of sauces, with Karma Sauce’s Lift Off — a Thai curry-inspired flavor — among them.
“They pan back to it three times,” Press said. “It was a pleasant surprise.”
While it’s not clear if Adam Sandler himself is a hot sauce fan, or if he’s even tried Lift Off, co-star Bad Bunny has. The pop star and actor, who plays a busboy-turned-caddie in the film, sampled the sauce during his “Hot Ones” appearance earlier this
year.
“It’s like a problem,” Bad Bunny said of the sauce on the episode, “cause it’s so f—ing spicy, but it’s really good.”
Karma Sauce has been featured on five seasons of “Hot Ones,” beginning in 2018.
According to the company, Lift Off features a green chili base and “peppy Thai vibes,” making it a fan favorite among other “Hot Ones” celebrity guests including Lady Gaga, Bill Murray, and Kevin Hart. Other Karma Sauces featured on “Hot Ones” include Burn After Eating, Scorpion Disco, Cosmic Disco and Extreme Karma.
Karma Sauce was started by former NASA JWST engineer Gene Olczak in 2010. He has grown the Rochester-based company from his garage into a full-scale production and packaging powerhouse, using fresh ingredients largely grown and harvested in the Finger Lakes region.
The YouTube series has provided a welcome splash of national exposure for the small-batch producer.
“There’s definitely a sales benefit and a recognition from that,” Press said, “and we 100% use it in our marketing, so it has helped.”
Karma Sauce is available at boutique retail shops across the United States as well as in Wegmans stores and online at KarmaSauce.com.
Veronica Volk is a reporter for WXXI/CITY. She can be reached at vvolk@wxxi.org.
This article appears in Dec 1-31, 2024.
