House of Habanero: Turning Heat Into Hope

When House of Habanero opened its first physical location at Alserkal Avenue in March, it did more than put hundreds of hot sauces on a shelf. It planted a flag. At a time when many businesses are choosing caution, the UAE-born brand chose to lean into community, optimism, and the belief that there is never a perfect moment to begin.

Founded by husband-and-wife duo Faisal Al Mutairi and Katy Gillett, House of Habanero has grown from an online store into what may be the UAE’s most ambitious shrine to spice: a container-sized tasting room stocked with everything from mild chilli oils to Carolina Reaper-fuelled sauces. Yet beneath the burn lies a softer idea. One built around local makers, small-batch products, and the conviction that flavour matters more than fire.

In conversation, Faisal Al Mutairi, Chief Chilli Officer and Co-founder, talks about opening amid uncertainty, why the community has become the brand’s strongest ingredient, and why House of Habanero is growing slowly, steadily, and one bottle at a time.

You chose to open at a moment when the region feels like it is standing on shifting sand. What gave you the confidence to move ahead with the launch?

Well, first of all, we’d signed the contract and paid the rent for the place before everything kicked off, so although I would love to say we were extremely brave, there was really no turning back!

We felt confident going into it though. Alserkal Avenue is a great location and a go-to for residents as opposed to purely tourists, and we knew from our time running a stall at Ripe Market that there was a taste for this sort of tasting room within the local communities.

We also had a one-month trial first, so worst case scenario, we didn’t extend beyond that. Thankfully, it didn’t come down to that, and now our contract has been granted until September, with a view to renewing after that, too.

In times like these, opening a new store can feel less like a business decision and more like a statement. What did you want this opening to say?

We’re committed to this business and the UAE/GCC market. We believe in the resilience and bounce back that the UAE and the region have, and can’t think of anywhere else we would feel this comfortable living in and running our business from. We’re here to stay.

We might have to pivot along the way and be more flexible than we’d thought, especially when it comes to a reliance on international imports, but with such a strong community of local gourmet producers and business-savvy founders, we feel we can make it work.

It also helps ease the pressure a lot to see the shop working in times like this, so hopefully it’s not too far-fetched to assume that things will be fine during normal times too, inshallah!

How has the current instability changed the way you think about growth, risk, and timing?

There’s never a good time to launch a project. You could come up with all the excuses you like. But if you’ve got a solid idea and foundation, then you’ll make it work, no matter what.

You can only make decisions based on the information you have at your disposal. We don’t know what tomorrow may bring, so although we are growth-focused, we are staying away from aggressive growth strategies and focusing more on slow and steady moves based on community engagement and customer retention. Once things stabilise, we can turn up the dial a bit.

Were there any moments when you considered delaying the launch? What ultimately convinced you to stay the course?

Not really, to be honest. Perhaps if we’d locked in for longer than a month at the time, we might have second-guessed it, but as it was, one month we were willing to take the risk.

We barely know anyone who has left the UAE during this time, so we were willing to bet there were enough customers interested in hot sauce and gourmet artisanal products.”

What are you seeing in customer behaviour right now? Are people looking for comfort, community, familiarity, or something completely different?

There is definitely an inspiring focus at the moment in supporting local brands and businesses amid the conflict, and I believe we’ve benefited from this support greatly. We’re so grateful to everyone who has come to us for this reason. It hasn’t gone unnoticed or unappreciated at all.

I think people are also looking for any pockets of comfort they can get right now. For me, food is a big driving factor when it comes to self-comforting, and hot sauce plays a big part in people’s lives, believe it or not.

But to give you an idea of the power that hot sauce can have over people, in the US, hot sauce is consumed by 90% of Americans and is classified as an essential food, exempt from tax!

House of Habanero has arrived during a period of uncertainty. How do you want the space to make people feel when they walk in?

We want people to feel excited about all the flavour options available to them, and the fact that they can try before they buy. We want them to feel welcome and at home, never judged.

We don’t expect everyone to have a high heat tolerance. We have very mild flavours, too. Our motto is ‘flavour over fire’ – it’s about food and the enjoyment of flavour and not just heat for heat’s sake. We’re very much open to everyone’s palates. Although if you can’t even tolerate black pepper, it might not be for you.

In a difficult backdrop, optimism can become its own kind of currency. What gives you hope about the future of the business and the market?

The response from the community these past few weeks has given us so much hope for the future. We’re talking about expansion to other emirates and possibly even other GCC cities. We want to keep everything artisanal and small-batch, but also cater to neighbourhoods and communities with flavours that they love.

And again, the way the community has come out in support of local businesses gives us hope for the future of the market in general.

Has this period changed the kind of brand or business you want to build going forward?

“It’s made us even more committed to the vision we built in the first place: flavour over fire; clean labels; connection with community; building a chilli scene in the UAE; offering a platform to local brands to build their presence.”

Many founders talk about resilience, but resilience can be a bruised word in times like these. What has resilience actually looked like for you over the last few months?

Being resilient can mean many things to many people, but for us, it’s meant trusting in the process and our community, and moving forward with our plans, no matter what.

If there is one lesson this opening has taught you about leadership in uncertain times, what would it be?

Never underestimate the power of community.