• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, November 22, 2024

Tari, which commands 70% of the Peruvian hot sauce market, is styling an unexpected debut in the U.S.  The brand is kicking off a social commerce activation in partnership with Meijer. Just by rocking the popular “Llama Hairdo,” fans can get deals on the flavorful sauces, which offer richness and complexity rather than red-hot firepower.

Users visit TariHairdo.com, and an AI-enabled mobile hair recognition tool will identify their llama hairstyle, letting them know which type of llamas they most resemble. Four are native to Peru: llamas, alpacas, auanacos, and vicunas. Users then land on special Tari offers, both online and at Meijer stores.

“We love llamas,” says Pamela Scarponi, international business director at Alicorp, which owns the brand. “They are a way to highlight our Peruvian roots and make a playful connection with this younger generation.”

She tells CPG Insider the effort is a different flavor from the brand’s usual marketing tactics. “Alicorp is a leading CPG company in the Andean region, so we are well known there. And we’ve won over 70% of the Peruvian hot sauce market, where people traditionally cooked their sauces at home.”

Those gains have come from authenticity. “We use real Peruvian peppers that only grow in the Andean region, here in Peru.”

That better-than-mom-makes positioning means a lot at home, but very little in the U.S., where awareness of Peruvian culinary trends is much lower. And the positioning is especially tricky since the U.S. market has been dominated by hot sauces often aimed at scorching taste buds rather than tickling them.

“We found a white space,” Scarponi says. “Not everybody likes heat. And many people in the U.S. think that hot sauce is starting to be rude to food. Our target doesn’t want to burn out their mouths -- they want more friendly experiences.”

Llamas are friendly creatures, and also native to Peru. “That inspired the whole campaign. Some people even call us the llama sauce, and we’re fine with that.”

Scarponi says that the sauces have been available in the U.S. for about a year and done quite well, giving the company the confidence to make a broader move into retail.

“It's been a journey, but we consistently hear from U.S. consumers that Tari is unique because it is made with a creamy texture and peppers that don't exist here. You’ll find many peppers on U.S. shelves, like jalapeno, habanero and siracha. But the peppers we use, rocoto and amarillo, aren’t available here,” she says. “We want to help the world discover these Peruvian culinary flavors and culture.”

VML created the activation after research documented the growing trend of llama haircuts on social media. “We knew this would be a great way to get our hot sauce into social conversations,” says James Phillips, VML’s global executive creative director. A video on TikTok and Instagram promises users that “if you have the llama style, you deserve the llama sauce.”

Content from eight creators -- both in the style and culinary realm -- supports the effort. Meijer is also amplifying the work through its retail ecosystem. That includes off-site display ads and dedicated social media promotions.

“We're jumping into the category in a way that is fun, relevant to consumers and relevant to the brand,” he says.

The company hopes the effort drives brand awareness and trial. “But this is an end-to-end activation, which comes right back to sales,” he says. “So, we can measure everything from eyeballs to digital awareness to conversion.”

“Being such a new brand in the U.S., and still a very small one, getting retailers like Meijer to partner with us is very important,” Scarponi says. “If we drive conversion, this effort will be a winner for us.”