Trappey's Hot Sauce

Trappey's Hot Sauce is an American condiment brand historically associated with New Iberia, Louisiana, and with the development of bottled Louisiana-style pepper sauce. Its origins date to 1898, when Louisiana entrepreneur B.F. Trapé, who had previously worked for the McIlhenny Company, began growing tabasco peppers from seed obtained on Avery Island. Working with his ten sons and one daughter, Trapé established B.F. Trappey and Sons and produced a pepper sauce that he initially called "Tabasco." The naming created a direct competitive and legal problem with the McIlhenny family's Tabasco brand. McIlhenny eventually secured a trademark for Tabasco in 1906, after which Trappey's adopted the more descriptive name "Louisiana Hot Sauce." The episode helped define the brand's identity around regional style rather than the protected Tabasco name. Over the following decades, Trappey's expanded beyond a single pepper sauce into a broader pantry portfolio. Its products have included cayenne pepper sauces, Louisiana-style hot sauce, jalapeño sauce, pepper sauce, pickled jalapeños, and several okra products, including cut okra, cocktail okra, and Creole okra gumbo. This range places the brand at the intersection of hot sauces, Southern pantry foods, pickled vegetables, and Louisiana-inspired cooking ingredients. Ownership changed several times in the late twentieth century. The company was sold to Perry and Wiltz Segura in 1982. After subsequent interim ownership, the McIlhenny Company acquired the business in 1991. McIlhenny later sold Trappey's to B&G Foods in 1997, bringing the brand into a large portfolio of packaged-food products. Under B&G Foods, Trappey's has continued as a branded grocery offering rather than as an independent New Iberia-based manufacturer. Although it retains Louisiana-style branding and historical ties to New Iberia, the sauce is no longer produced in Louisiana and has been imported from Colombia. Its Louisiana-style hot sauce is relatively mild compared with many competing pepper sauces, with a cited heat level of approximately 1,200 to 1,600 Scoville units. The recipe information associated with the product identifies distilled vinegar, red pepper, salt, guar gum, xanthan gum, ascorbic acid, and Red 40. Xanthan gum is used to help create a smooth, consistent texture. Trappey's therefore combines regional heritage, a long-running naming history, and mass-market packaged-food distribution. Its current identity is less that of a small Louisiana manufacturer than of a legacy American condiment brand maintained within B&G Foods' broader grocery portfolio. The brand's historical significance comes from its early role in bottled pepper sauce, its rivalry with the Tabasco trademark, and its association with Louisiana-style flavor, while its present product assortment includes both sauces and preserved vegetable products.

Trappey's Hot Sauce traces its history to New Iberia, Louisiana, where B.F. Trapé founded B.F. Trappey and Sons in 1898. Trapé had previously worked for the McIlhenny Company, the Avery Island business associated with Tabasco sauce. Using tabasco pepper seed from Avery Island, he began cultivating peppers and producing his own bottled pepper sauce with the assistance of his ten sons and one daughter. The early business used the name "Tabasco" for its sauce. That choice placed the company in conflict with McIlhenny, whose family business also marketed a pepper sauce under that name. McIlhenny obtained a trademark for Tabasco in 1906, following a rivalry that lasted for several decades. Trappey's subsequently moved away from the contested name and marketed its product as "Louisiana Hot Sauce." This change established the descriptive Louisiana-style identity that remains central to the brand. The company later developed a diversified assortment of sauces and preserved foods. In addition to its Louisiana hot sauce, the Trappey's range came to include cayenne pepper sauce, jalapeño sauce, other pepper sauces, pickled jalapeños, and okra products. The portfolio included cut okra, cocktail okra in mild and hot versions, and Creole okra gumbo. These products connected the brand not only with hot-sauce consumption but also with Southern and Louisiana cooking traditions. Ownership shifted in the late twentieth century. Perry and Wiltz Segura acquired the company in 1982. Following additional ownership changes, McIlhenny Company purchased Trappey's in 1991. McIlhenny then sold the business to B&G Foods in 1997. The acquisition placed Trappey's within a larger packaged-food company and ended its period as an independently controlled Louisiana food manufacturer. The brand's manufacturing geography later diverged from its historical identity. Trappey's is still described as Louisiana-style, but production is no longer based in Louisiana; the sauce has been imported from Colombia. Its principal Louisiana-style sauce is comparatively mild, with a stated range of 1,200 to 1,600 Scoville units. Product labeling identifies a formula based on distilled vinegar, red pepper, salt, guar gum, xanthan gum, ascorbic acid, and Red 40, with xanthan gum contributing to a smooth texture. Today, Trappey's is best understood as a legacy American grocery brand maintained by B&G Foods. Its heritage rests on its New Iberia origin, its early connection to tabasco-pepper cultivation, and its historical naming dispute with the Tabasco brand. Its commercial identity combines mild Louisiana-style pepper sauces with pickled vegetables and other pantry products associated with Southern cuisine.

• 1997

  B&G Foods becomes owner

  [1]Trappey's Hot Sauceen.wikipedia.org

  B&G Foods purchased Trappey's from McIlhenny Company.

• 1991

  McIlhenny Company acquires Trappey's

  [1]Trappey's Hot Sauceen.wikipedia.org

  McIlhenny Company acquired Trappey's after a period involving other owners.

• 1982

  Ownership passes to the Seguras

  [1]Trappey's Hot Sauceen.wikipedia.org

  Perry and Wiltz Segura purchased the Trappey's company.

• 1906

  McIlhenny receives a Tabasco trademark

  [1]Trappey's Hot Sauceen.wikipedia.org

  McIlhenny's trademark registration for Tabasco forced Trappey's to move away from using that name for its sauce and adopt the Louisiana Hot Sauce designation.

• 1898

  B.F. Trapé establishes the Trappey's business

  [1]Trappey's Hot Sauceen.wikipedia.org

  B.F. Trapé founded B.F. Trappey and Sons in Louisiana and began producing pepper sauce using tabasco peppers grown from Avery Island seed.

A heritage American condiment brand offering mild Louisiana-style pepper sauces and Southern-inspired pickled vegetable products through the B&G Foods portfolio.

• Hot sauce

  Trappey's Louisiana Hot Sauce

  The core Louisiana-style pepper sauce associated with the Trappey's name. It is vinegar-based and relatively mild by hot-sauce standards, with a cited heat range of approximately 1,200 to 1,600 Scoville units. The product is no longer made in Louisiana and is described as being imported from Colombia.

• Cayenne pepper sauce

  Red Devil Cayenne Pepper Sauce

  A cayenne-focused pepper sauce in the Trappey's portfolio. It represents the brand's traditional emphasis on vinegar-based pepper condiments and provides a hotter, more specifically cayenne-oriented alternative to its standard Louisiana-style sauce.

• Hot sauce

  Bull Louisiana Hot Sauce

  A Louisiana-style hot sauce sold under the Bull name within the Trappey's range. Available source material identifies it as one of the brand's principal sauce products but does not provide a detailed formulation or launch history.

• Pepper sauce

  Indi-Pep Pepper Sauce

  A pepper sauce offering associated with Trappey's broader condiment assortment. The product reflects the brand's extension beyond a single Louisiana hot sauce into multiple pepper-based sauces.

• Jalapeño sauce

  Chef Magic Jalapeño Sauce

  A jalapeño-based sauce in the Trappey's portfolio, providing a pepper profile distinct from the brand's cayenne and red-pepper sauces. Detailed launch, distribution, and formulation information is not established in the available reference material.

• Pickled vegetable

  Trappey's Cut Okra

  A preserved okra product that broadens Trappey's beyond hot sauces into shelf-stable Southern pantry foods. It is part of the brand's long-standing association with pickled and prepared vegetables.

• Prepared vegetable and gumbo product

  Trappey's Creole Okra Gumbo

  A Creole-style okra product connected to Louisiana cooking traditions. It demonstrates the brand's positioning around regional food culture as well as its role as a producer of preserved vegetable products.

• Pickled okra

  Trappey's Cocktail Okra

  Pickled cocktail okra offered in mild and hot varieties. The product extends Trappey's vegetable-preservation range and gives the brand a presence in appetizer, garnish, and Southern pantry applications.

• Pickled pepper

  Trappey's Pickled Jalapeños

  Pickled jalapeños that complement the brand's hot-sauce assortment with a whole or sliced preserved-pepper format. They fit Trappey's broader focus on vinegar-preserved peppers and vegetables.

• 1997

  B&G Foods acquires Trappey'sM&A

  Background

  McIlhenny Company owned Trappey's after acquiring it in 1991.

  Action taken

  B&G Foods purchased the Trappey's business and assumed ownership of the brand.

  Aftermath

  Trappey's continued as a packaged-food brand within B&G Foods' portfolio rather than as an independently operated Louisiana manufacturer.

  Source

• 1991

  McIlhenny Company acquires Trappey'sM&A

  Background

  Trappey's had passed through multiple ownership arrangements after its sale to Perry and Wiltz Segura in 1982.

  Action taken

  McIlhenny Company purchased the Trappey's business.

  Aftermath

  Trappey's became part of the company historically connected to the Tabasco trademark before being sold again in 1997.

  Source

• 1906

  Adopt the Louisiana Hot Sauce nameStrategy

  Background

  Trappey's had used the name Tabasco for its sauce, but McIlhenny obtained a trademark for Tabasco after a prolonged rivalry between the companies.

  Action taken

  The Trappey's business shifted to the more descriptive Louisiana Hot Sauce designation.

  Aftermath

  The change established the Louisiana-style identity that became central to the brand's later positioning.

  • McIlhenny Company — McIlhenny secured trademark protection for the Tabasco name.

  Source

• 1997

  B&G Foods acquires Trappey's[1]Trappey's Hot Sauceen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  B&G Foods purchased Trappey's from McIlhenny Company and became the brand's corporate owner.

• 1991

  McIlhenny Company acquires Trappey's[1]Trappey's Hot Sauceen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  After a period involving other owners, McIlhenny Company acquired the Trappey's business, linking the brand again to the company associated with Tabasco sauce.

• 1982

  Trappey's business sold to Perry and Wiltz Segura[1]Trappey's Hot Sauceen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Ownership of the Trappey's company changed hands when it was sold to Perry and Wiltz Segura.

• Trappey's Louisiana plant closes[1]Trappey's Hot Sauceen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The Louisiana production facility associated with Trappey's closed; the brand is described as no longer being produced in Louisiana and as being imported from Colombia.

1. 1Trappey's Hot Sauceen.wikipedia.org