If you have ever eaten fries in Sea Isle City, chances are you have met Hank Sauce. It is on restaurant tables. It is in beach house kitchens. It is probably in your fridge right now.
And now it has a very familiar (and famous) fan backing it. Former Eagles center Jason Kelce has officially invested in Hank Sauce, the South Jersey-born hot sauce company that started as a small shore-side passion project and quietly grew into a national brand.
For locals, it feels less like celebrity news and more like a neighbor getting a really big win.
Hank Sauce was founded in 2011 by three friends who began selling their homemade hot sauce around Sea Isle City. What started as small batches and word of mouth buzz turned into something much bigger. Today the sauce is made in a Millville production facility and sold in thousands of stores across the country.
But long before it hit shelves nationwide, Hank Sauce was a Shore staple. It showed up at seafood spots in Atlantic and Cape May Counties. It lived on burgers and eggs in summer rentals. It became one of those brands you did not need explained because everyone already knew it.
Kelce did not just discover the sauce online. He has been spending summers in Sea Isle City for years and is a regular around town. Like a lot of people who spend time at the Shore, he became a genuine fan before becoming a partner.
Through his investment company, Kelce is now part of the Hank Sauce team. According to the company, his role will go beyond funding. He will be involved in branding and storytelling as the company continues to grow.
In a statement, Kelce said he has gotten to know the people behind the brand and wanted to be part of something that already felt authentic and fun.
You can still walk into a restaurant in Sea Isle City and order food the same way you always have, adding Hank Sauce to your dish for that extra kick. The bottles still look the same. The sauce still tastes the same.
The difference is that now, when people across the country discover Hank Sauce, South Jersey locals get to say what they already knew: This one started here.
Photo credit: hanksauce.com
