Our Story
Hey! We're Dan and Nat.
We make hot sauce and spice rubs in Brunswick, Melbourne. We've been doing it for over a decade and we're still obsessed.
You wanna know one thing about us, its… we reckon flavour beats heat every single time.
It started with a UFC night and a homemade sauce.
Back in 2015, Dan made a batch of hot sauce for a mate coming over to watch the fights. Nothing fancy. Just good ingredients, a bit of time, and the kind of flavour that makes a Wednesday night feel like something worth showing up for.
That sauce didn't last the night. But the idea did.
What started as something made for a kitchen table in Melbourne has grown into a full range of small-batch hot sauces and spice rubs, a deli on Sydney Road, and a brand built entirely on the belief that food is how we take care of people.
The products have changed. The reason hasn't.
A few things we'll never budge on.
Flavour over heat. Always.
We're not interested in making your eyes water for the sake of it. Every product is built around complex, layered taste. The heat is there, but it's got a job to do. If you want a one-note face-melter, there are plenty of brands for that. We're not one of them.
Small-batch means something.
It means we know every bottle that leaves the kitchen. It means we choose Australian ingredients and local suppliers because we've built real relationships with them. It means we'll never mass-produce, because the moment we do, we lose the thing that makes this worth doing.
Good food doesn't need to be fancy.
Something can be top-shelf without being up itself. We're serious about quality but we're not precious about it. Come as you are.
The product is the proof.
The market is full of brands with great marketing and average product. We'd rather be the other way around. Every claim we make, the sauce backs up. That's the whole philosophy.
Every brain deserves a seat at the table.
Danny Balboa's is a social enterprise. We provide real, flexible work for people who are neurodivergent or managing their mental health, because we believe the food industry has room for every kind of person.
Just like everything we do, we’re starting small batch with this side of our business and growing as we grow.
It's not a marketing angle. It's just how we run the business. And it's something we're quietly proud of.
A few things we've won.
(More on the way)
Made by hand in Brunswick, Melbourne.
Australian ingredients, local suppliers.
Vegan friendly. Gluten free.
Small batch since 2105.
Ships Australia-wide.
Come get your medicine.
Whether you're shopping online, dropping into the deli, or just here to find out what to do with that bottle sitting in your pantry, we're glad you're here.
