Austin-based Yellowbird Foods has inked a national retail deal with Academy Sports + Outdoors. Credit: Photo Courtesy Yellowbird Foods

After Austin-based Yellowbird Foods’ Bliss & Vinegar hot sauce made waves with an appearance on YouTube interview series Hot Ones, the brand is now available nationwide in Academy Sports + Outdoors locations.

Soon after Yellowbird’s launch in 2012, co-founder Erin Link noticed a “natural synergy” with outdoor enthusiasts.

“We were getting tagged in Instagram posts from backpackers, hikers, and campers enjoying Yellowbird on their adventures,” Link said in a release. “I think it had a lot to do with the fact that our bottles are easy to transport, and our sauces add a great deal of flavor to a simple meal on the go. We definitely met a need in the active lifestyle community.”

The new partnership allows for all five of the brand’s classic fiery hot sauces — Jalapeno, Serrano, Blue Agave Sriracha, Habanero and Ghost Pepper — to be sold in 19.6-ounce squeeze bottles for $9.99 in Academy stores and on the outfitter’s website.

The brand’s fiery wares are often ranked as top sellers in Whole Foods Market and Amazon. The sauces are known not only for their heat, but for their signature consistency, which comes from the whole fruits, vegetables and peppers co-founders Link and George Milton use to make the sauces.

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This article appears in Jun 29 – Jul 12, 2022.

Nina Rangel uses nearly 20 years of experience in the foodservice industry to tell the stories of movers and shakers in the food scene in San Antonio. As the Food + Nightlife Editor for the San Antonio...