Kame Hot Sauce
Turning up the heat in grocery's most crowded category.
KA-ME has been bringing authentic Asian flavours to American kitchens for decades. But as consumer appetite for Asian flavours exploded, so did the competition. With shelves increasingly packed with hot sauces, chilli crisps and flavour-led challengers, KA-ME needed a new range that could compete with a generation of brands designed to demand attention.
Our answer was Face the Flame; a character-led sub brand world inspired by Anime, transforming the physical experience of flavour into something consumers could see, feel and remember.
Our answer was Face the Flame; a character-led sub brand world inspired by Anime, transforming the physical experience of flavour into something consumers could see, feel and remember.
Specialisms
BrandingPackaging
Illustration
Awards
Nexty Expo West Shortlist 2026
THE CHALLENGE
Sauce aisles have changed dramatically. What was once a relatively functional category has become a hotbed of innovation, with new flavours, formats and challenger brands constantly fighting for space and attention. That created a challenge for KA-ME.
Launching another range of sauces couldn't simply mean putting a different ingredient, chilli or flavour claim on the front of pack. On a shelf already overflowing with heat cues, provenance stories and ingredient photography, more category convention risked becoming category camouflage. KA-ME needed to remain recognisably Asian and communicate heat quickly, while finding an idea distinctive enough to stop shoppers in their tracks. And it needed to work beyond a single product.
The system had to stretch across a diverse provenance range from Japanese Chilli-Ponzu and Chinese Chilli-Lemongrass to Thai Chilli-Lime and Spicy Korean BBQ before extending into the rapidly growing chilli crisp category.
Launching another range of sauces couldn't simply mean putting a different ingredient, chilli or flavour claim on the front of pack. On a shelf already overflowing with heat cues, provenance stories and ingredient photography, more category convention risked becoming category camouflage. KA-ME needed to remain recognisably Asian and communicate heat quickly, while finding an idea distinctive enough to stop shoppers in their tracks. And it needed to work beyond a single product.
The system had to stretch across a diverse provenance range from Japanese Chilli-Ponzu and Chinese Chilli-Lemongrass to Thai Chilli-Lime and Spicy Korean BBQ before extending into the rapidly growing chilli crisp category.
THE SOLUTION
Rather than showing consumers what was in the bottle, we showed them what happened when they tasted it. Face the Flame transformed flavour into a character-led experience, inspired by the expressive language of anime and Asian comic books. Two characters became the heroes of the range, with exaggerated reactions, flushed cheeks, watering eyes, puckered lips — communicating everything from sweet and tangy to smoky and fiery.
Bold colour, typography, comic panels, flavour callouts and heat scales created a distinctive world that could flex across every SKU, then extend seamlessly into a kit of parts for KA-ME's chilli crisp range. The concept gave KA-ME an ownable storytelling platform built to grow with the brand.
Bold colour, typography, comic panels, flavour callouts and heat scales created a distinctive world that could flex across every SKU, then extend seamlessly into a kit of parts for KA-ME's chilli crisp range. The concept gave KA-ME an ownable storytelling platform built to grow with the brand.
Jessica Herb, Senior Marketing Director
“From the very beginning, White Bear encouraged us to be brave. They transformed our ambition into a challenger brand with real personality, confidence and standout shelf presence, while ensuring every creative decision was grounded in strategy. Seeing the work shortlisted for a Nexty Award at Expo West 2026 was a proud moment for the team and a wonderful validation of the work we created together”
Steve Finnie, President & Chief Marketing Officer
“White Bear challenged us to think bigger and gave us the confidence to build a distinctive challenger brand capable of standing apart in one of the most competitive US categories in grocery. They balanced bold creativity with sound commercial thinking throughout, and the result is a brand we're incredibly proud of and one that's already secured distribution with Target ahead of launch.”
THE IMPACT
The range is already securing distribution across KA-ME’s largest customers, Walmart and Target and was shortlisted for a NEXTY Award at Expo West 2026, giving KA-ME both commercial momentum and industry recognition for its bold new direction.
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