Britain has officially gone hot sauce mad – with fans now adding it to food at weddings, on public transport and in the cinema. 

New research from Ginsters, released to mark the launch of its new Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Chicken Pocket – a hand-held pastry designed to bring the tangy kick of Buffalo sauce to snack time in a convenient, on-the-go format – reveals the nation’s chilli obsession is no longer confined to the dinner table.  

Some Brits are now reaching for the bottle in all kinds of unexpected places. In fact,1 in 12 sauce eaters (8%) admit adding it to food on public transport, while 1 in 14 (7%) have done the same at a wedding or other formal occasion.  

The most common place to use it outside the home is at a friend’s house (32%), followed by festivals and outdoor events (25%) and the office kitchen (19%). 

And it is not just where Brits are using it – it’s what they are putting it on, too. 

Among hot sauce eaters, the most popular pairings are burgers and chips (both 42%), followed closely by chicken (40%). But the findings also reveal younger adults are far more adventurous, experimenting with unique combinations including sweet breakfast foods and desserts. Among younger consumers, around 1 in 10 have tried hot sauce on pancakes (11%), while similar numbers have splashed it on porridge (10%), waffles (10%) and even cake (11%). 

Even the humble Sunday roast is no longer safe. Overall, 1 in 10 hot sauce eaters say they have added it to a roast dinner (10%), with the figure rising among younger groups – showing just how willing Brits have become to spice up even their most traditional meals. 

Young Brits are the ones driving the craze. 

A third of Gen Z (33%) say a snack or meal feels incomplete without hot sauce, compared with 15% of Brits overall. And while well over a tenth of Brits (15%) say they always choose a spicy or “hot” snack, that rises to 27% among Gen Z and 25% among millennials. 

Regionally, London is the nation’s hot sauce capital, with 35% adding it to meals at least once a week. Yorkshire and Humberside follows on 25%, ahead of the East Midlands (22%), North West (21%) and North East (20%). 

To tap into Britain’s growing appetite for heat, Ginsters has launched the new Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Chicken Pocket – a flavour-packed, hand-held pastry designed to bring the tangy kick of Buffalo sauce to snack time in a way that fits easily into busy, everyday life. Whether eaten between meetings, on the way to the train, or straight from the fridge at home, the Pocket is made to deliver bold flavour – and can also be heated up for a warmer, more indulgent bite. 

Getting that flavour right took serious work behind the scenes. Over a year in development, the Pocket went through round after round of taste tests, tweaks and retesting to make sure the unmistakable tang of Frank’s RedHot Buffalo sauce still packed a punch in pastry form. From balancing the heat for die-hard Frank’s fans and more cautious spice eaters alike, to testing it hot and cold, the process was all about delivering the ideal balance of flavour, texture and satisfaction to create an unmistakable Ginsters x Frank’s tasting experience.  

The end result is a golden, flaky pastry packed with tender chicken and tangy Buffalo sauce – bringing together big flavour and real convenience. Made with 100% British meat, the new Pocket is easy to grab on the go and designed to slot into real life, offering a great way to enjoy the taste of Frank’s RedHot, whether on a train, at a desk or as part of a quick snack at home. 

The Ginsters x Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Chicken Pocket is available now in Co-op stores nationwide as part of the meal deal snack offering, with rollout into Sainsbury’s from 11 May, followed by Asda and Tesco from 18May.