Kevin Carbone, a former Hoboken, and current Jersey Shore resident, was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, a lifelong autoimmune disease at age 21. On his path to a better manage his health, he was determined to focus on nutrition. He fell in love with anti-inflammatory foods like turmeric – products that aren’t typically synonymous with hot sauce, if ever. But Kevin was determined to stay true to healthy eating and also enjoy this everyday condiment. Enter: Sauce Bae.
The Journey to Sauce Bae
Since Kevin’s diagnosis nine years ago, he’s been on a journey to improve his health through his diet. Seeking out anti-inflammatory foods and eating clean has helped him manage his health.
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“I also became a strong advocate for eating real, whole foods in their natural forms. Eating this way was critical for restoring my health, and it’s how I developed a passion for cooking. The shocking thing is that it was nearly impossible to find packaged food items that didn’t have any fake ingredients. Too often, we fall for buzzwords without checking an item’s ingredients to find out the truth. Plenty of items are marketed as ‘all-natural even though the ingredient list suggests otherwise,” he explained.
“I realized the hot sauce category presented the perfect opportunity. Most hot sauces on the market were loaded with sodium, had added sugars, and contained either artificial preservatives or fake thickeners like Xanthan Gum. I was determined to change that. I set out to create the healthiest option on the market, without sacrificing any flavor. This is what inspired me to leave my finance career and create a truly all-natural food product that incorporated turmeric in it.”
The end result of Kevin’s work is Sauce Bae. Sauce Bae is a pineapple habanero hot sauce that’s made with turmeric, is low sodium, and is truly all-natural. Oh, and it’s delicious!
The Hot Sauce Today
Since 2019, the sauce has been featured on season 9 of the multi-million viewer show Hot Ones and has gained more than 1,000 reviews on Amazon.
The sauce has also landed on the shelves of major retailers like HomeGoods and Cost Plus World Market for seasonal placements. Sauce Bae hot sauce was recently launched in 63 Price Rite stores and 70 select ShopRite stores throughout the Tri-state area. The Hoboken, Jersey City, and Bayonne ShopRites will be included in this launch, so if it’s not already on the shelf then it will be in the very near future.
“I was also recently nominated on the Forbes Next 1,000 list,” Kevin proudly shared.
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“Once upon a time, I would have considered my diagnosis the worst thing to ever happen to me, but by keeping an optimistic outlook on my situation I was able to create a silver lining. Life throws curveballs at us all, so I hope to inspire others to try and find their silver lining.”
To shop the hot sauce, visit the Sauce Bae website, and to stay in the know with the brand, follow along on Instagram at @saucebae.
2024 Wrapped: The Craziest New Jersey News Stories Of the Year
2024 was a lot of things. A year of growth, change, improvement, and transformation for many. Also a year of never-ending meme content for Hoboken + Jersey City residents. From astronomy events to mystery drones to many celebrity sightings, The Hoboken Girl wrapped up several of our craziest headlines from the past year. Read on for a recap of some of the wildest stories we covered in Hoboken + Jersey City in 2024.
The Solar Eclipse
For a brief moment during the early afternoon of April 8th, 2024, it looked like a large cloud loomed over the Tri-State area. It was a Solar Eclipse, when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, casting a shadow on Earth that either fully or partially blocks the Sun's light, according to NASA. We all sported some funky protective glasses to look up at the sun and see it turned into a crescent. Along with giving people an excuse to take a long lunch, it also brought us some great memes.
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East Coast Earthquake
Photo Credit: U.S. Geological Survey
Because an astronomy event wasn’t enough, an earthquake shook New Jersey and the Tri-State area in April. A 4.8 magnitude earthquake made every stop what they were doing and wonder, “are they doing construction on my street?” Because of those tremors, the Holland Tunnel closed briefly, NJ Transit had several delays, and Newark Airport limited how many planes could land and depart while officials made sure there wasn’t major infrastructure damage. The best news: no one was injured.
Hoboken? More Like Hollywood
Photo Credit: @jessstish
The streets of Hoboken + Jersey City were transformed into a dozen movie sets in 2024. Timothee Chalamet turned into Bob Dylan while shooting the biopic. Blake Lively turned Hoboken into Boston for the Colleen Hoover book adaptation It Ends With Us. Paul Mescal and Josh O’Conner shot their movie The History of Sound. Jeremy Allen White was spotted around several Hoboken coffee spots while shooting Deliver Me From Nowhere, a biopic about Bruce Springsteen. The full list of projects in Hudson County can be found here.
The Drones
Drone sightings had been reported all over New Jersey in November and December of 2024. It’s like if The War of the Worlds happened on TikTok in the 21st century instead of the radio in 1938. As of December 2024, we still don’t know where or why they are hovering over the Garden State. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is among several government officials expressing concerns over what these drones are up to. Governor Murphy did say after briefing with Homeland Security “There is no known threat to the public at this time.” Whatever these drones end up being, they better come in peace.
Sonic Boom
Residents in Hoboken + NYC reported hearing an extremely loud bang in July of 2024. NASA reported it may have been a meteor. The fireball was seen over New York City moving 34,000 miles per hour. It reportedly passed over the Statue of Liberty before it disintegrated 29 miles above Manhattan. Residents from Hoboken to The Shore reported seeing and hearing a loud noise.
2024 Paris Olympics
Over 20 athletes from New Jersey donned the red, white, and blue to compete for Team USA in the Paris Olympics. From the track to several different courts to the pool, these Jersey athletes gave it their all to help bring home some of the 40 Gold Medals.
Contractors Pave Over Hoboken Storm Drains
There seem to be two constants in Hoboken. Construction, and flooding when it rains. So several Hoboken residents who call Park Avenue home on the North end of the City were shocked to see that several storm drains were paved over in August of 2024. It was just before a Tropical Storm was set to pour over New Jersey, stressing out residents for possible flooding issues. The Hoboken Girl broke the story, and a few days later, Hudson County officials confirmed they had crews fixing the paved-over storm drains.
NJ Transit Headaches
Each month seemed to bring a new story about NJ Transit in our slice of New Jersey. There were delays and cancellations all winter and summer. Fare hikes took effect over the summer bumping up bus and train tickets. The clouded windows commuters would try to see out of are being replaced. To cap it off, the CEO of NJ Transit announced his resignation in December of 2024.
The Northern Lights
Photo Credit: Jordan + Joelle Hernandez
For once, people didn’t have to fly all the way to Iceland to witness the magic of an Aurora Borealis. For a brief moment in October 2024, the Northern Lights could be seen over the Tri-State area. Hues of purple and pink and a touch of green danced around the sky, mainly visible through a camera lens. The phenomenon is caused by geomagnetic activity or geomagnetic storms.
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Plenty more headlines are sure to come in 2025. To stay up to date with all things happening in Hoboken + Jersey City, follow @thehobokengirl on Instagram + TikTok, sign up for our weekly newsletter here, and check out our events calendar.
