Nearly three years ago, when Sufia Hossain decided to leave her secure job in the fashion industry to start a hot sauce business in New York, many in the Bangladeshi community and even some in her family called her “silly” and “crazy”.

Today, she aptly named Silly Chilly Hot Sauce is sold in 144 stores in New York and New Jersey including some of the top spice merchants in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Hossain, a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, had no professional experience in the food industry and very little knowledge about peppers in particular.

“I loved the colourful peppers at the local farmers market but had no idea about the different varieties,” she says.

After months of experimentation with various types, research on YouTube and other internet sources, and several failures in her apartment kitchen she produced her first three hot sauce bottles and her first tasters were co-workers at Gap, a clothing and accessories retailer where she worked in merchandising.

“They loved it and it gave me the confidence to move ahead,” she told  Bangla Tribune.

The major part of her current supply of peppers is sourced from Rutgers University Agricultural Farm but she also buys from local growers in New York and New Jersey.

“I feel I can make an impact not just by supporting local farmers but also by promoting agriculture as a profession,” she says, adding, “Not many want to take agriculture as a profession anymore.”

The breakthrough in the highly competitive hot sauce market wasn’t easy though. It took her months to convince a store owner to stock her product and she attributes it to sheer hard work.

“I did not take no as no, I took it as not now,” she says.

Buoyed by her success, Hossain also launched Silly Chilly Dumplings last year that includes flavours from Bangladeshi cooking.

Hossain, who came to the United States from Bangladesh with her parents in the mid-nineties, says she did not get much support from the Bangladeshi community when she decided to launch her business. The crowd funding campaign for her endeavour barely got any support.

“It’s not quite common for women to start a business within the community. Most still believe you should go to school, and get a good job and that’s it,” she says.

Her plan now is to expand beyond New York and for that, she is aiming to launch an initiative with global farmers to produce unique hot sauces with their peppers.

“I have so far worked with American farmers. Now I am travelling to Bangladesh to explore the possibilities,” she says.