A thoughtful birthday gift and a passion for chilli was the inspiration for ex tuna fisherman, Anthony Johnson to turn his love of chilli into a business. Chilli Sweet in Nambour kicked off almost a year ago and the response to the unique hot and sweet treats has been overwhelming.

“Anthony is the ‘chilli sauce fanatic’,” said his wife Shelby. “I gave him a chilli plant for his birthday and he started experimenting with the chillis, making his own sauces and salts. Our business really has just taken off from there.”

Most of Anthony’s small batch craft chilli sauces have a sweet twist and the range of products has more recently expanded into chilli inspired desserts.

“I have always worked in bakeries in customer service, and I absolutely love baking,” Shelby said. “So I started to bake cheesecakes, slices, cupcakes and hand made chocolates and sugars based on chilli. We have even expanded into chilli infused water, with other premium fresh ingredients like lemon, lime and raspberries,” she said. “We do beautiful, unusual and fully customisable dessert platters as well, using local ingredients from local suppliers. Our products are of exceptional quality for this reason.”

Chilli Sweet products are currently available online, at selected markets and through various retail outlets. “We sponsor a show on 7Mate called Blokes World (blokes love chilli sauce!), and the response there has been incredible. We could never have anticipated how crazy this ride would be,” Shelby said. “We pour our hearts into our products and we bake absolutely everything from scratch; we see big things on the near horizon. Half of the buzz of what we do is producing something so unique, and making people happy at the same time.”

• Chilli Sweet 4/15 Arundell Ave Nambour, Phone 0403 388 578 www.ChilliSweet.com.au.