With hot honey, there are no rules. The flavor perfectly complements all kinds of foods from sweet to savory and everything in between.
Given its versatility, it’s no wonder that hot honey is up nearly 200 percent on menus these past few years.
We have Mike’s Hot Honey to thank for helping to fuel the momentum behind the hot honey trend. By now the brand’s origin story is well known.
Founder Mike Kurtz was on a quest to recreate a delicious sweet-heat flavor he had eaten on a pizza in Brazil while studying abroad.
Upon returning home, he began experimenting with different combinations of honey and chili peppers in his college apartment, eventually selling the resulting product out of Paulie Gee’s pizzeria in Brooklyn, starting in 2010.
The rest, you might say, is history, and today, Mike’s Hot Honey can be found at thousands of restaurants across the country.
Recently, ice cream and other desserts have gotten into the hot honey game. Just this month, Coldstone Creamery launched a special Mike’s Hot Honey ice cream flavor.
Previously, Dave & Busters introduced a Cinnamon Toast Crunch fried ice cream with Mike’s Hot Honey in 2022 and Chip City created a unique Corn Bread Cookie collaboration with the brand.
“What’s cool about our product is that it’s complementary to so many different types of menu items and increasingly we’re seeing it used to enhance sweets and desserts,” said Mike’s Hot Honey founder Mike Kurtz.
“The flavor pairs so well with these types of menu items and can really help dessert stand out in a unique way and give ice cream a new and trendy twist.”
Cold Stone Creamery, which collaborated closely with Mike’s Hot Honey to develop the recipe for their new limited-time ice cream, hopes that hot honey will be a draw for consumers looking to taste something surprising and different.
“Hot honey is so popular right now that it made sense to incorporate it into our ice cream and leverage the awareness that the Mike’s Hot Honey brand has created,” said Jana Schneider, vice president of national programs at Kahala Brands™, parent company of Cold Stone Creamery.
“At Cold Stone Creamery we love creating innovative – and delicious – ice cream flavors that delight our customers and drive trial and frequency. With our Mike’s Hot Honey Ice Cream we not only delight existing hot honey fans, but introduce our ice cream lovers to an exciting new flavor!”
Schneider also says the Mike’s Hot Honey marketing team is providing extensive support both at the store level and through social media to help create interest and excitement.
Another recent example of the sweet and savory flavor combination was the limited-edition Hot Honey Mango DoughnUTZ which featured a hot honey mango glaze, crushed Utz Mike’s Hot Honey Potato Chips and a drizzle of Mike’s Hot Honey.
The unique three-way collaboration was in honor of National Honeybee Day and National Potato Day this past August.
Utz and Mike’s Hot Honey teamed up with New York City’s Dough Doughnuts to create a sizzling summer donut that had people lining up throughout Manhattan.
“When it comes to flavor combinations, few tastes pair better than sweet and salty with a touch of heat and Dough’s brought this to a whole new level,” noted Matt Beaton, CEO of Mike’s Hot Honey.
When you consider that consumers’ preference for spice is growing (especially younger ones), it’s really no surprise that hot honey is now turning up in desserts, ice cream and also beverages like coffee and even cocktails.
People just can’t seem to get enough of the swicy flavor profile. According to Technomic’s 2021 Flavor Consumer Trend Report, sweet and spicy combinations top the list with 45% of consumers finding it the most appealing.
If you are looking to add it to your dessert menu, the sky is the limit. Simple drizzle it on ice cream or sorbet, brownies and cheesecake that you are already serving to give it a fresh, unexpected update.
“We’ve always prided ourselves on making meaningful connections with our foodservice customers and showcasing brands that use our product and the way they are using it,” Kurtz said.
“I’ve been amazed at all the creative ways it is being incorporated into menu items and the dessert trend is the icing on the cake,” he added.
As today’s tastemakers know, people today want craveable food and hot honey is part of this new dynamic with its many usages continuing to grow. For more information on how Mike’s Hot Honey can help your restaurant delight consumers, please visit website.
