Michael and Diana Muranaka quote their favorite movie, Bridesmaids, to each other so often that one scene inspired the name of their hot sauce company. The scene follows a police officer who stops Kristen Wiig’s character and recognizes her from a sign at her bakery.
“You’re Cake Baby,” the officer said, referencing the name of her business.
Then Sauce Baby was born.
Craving some heat?
Sauce Baby’s signature product, Hot Lil Mama, is sold in nearly 20 stores up and down the Central Coast, from Paso Robles to Santa Ynez. It’s also available to order online at heysaucebaby.com along with the brand’s hats, shirts, and stickers. Follow the brand on Instagram @heysaucebaby.
“This company is basically us,” Michael said. “It’s like our relationship.”
In their 15 years of marriage, they knew they wanted to start a business together. After some abandoned ideas—like a directory for tourists in El Salvador, where they lived for seven years—Sauce Baby stuck. The brand recently celebrated its first anniversary.
Like the name of the company, the ingredients in their sauce, called Hot Lil Mama, also have a unique background. Michael is the chef in their household and started mixing ingredients in their blender. The first one he remembered making was a jalapeño and pineapple sauce. As he continued experimenting, the couple began to think more seriously about starting a hot sauce company.
“For Michael, it’s also a creative outlet,” Diana said. “He’s a very creative person, so I think cooking is another channel for him to express that.”
Hot Lil Mama is a blend of manzano, Fresno, serrano, and Thai chilis. The special ingredient is brewed hibiscus tea, common in El Salvador, where Diana is from.
“We tried it, and it perfectly rounded the hot sauce out,” Michael said.
Their sauce complements a wide variety of food, the Orcutt couple agrees, from eggs to pizza.
“I think it’s definitely more than just the heat plus vinegar,” Diana said. “I do like when it’s tangy.”
Diana likes that the spice in Hot Lil Mama doesn’t keep burning for an extended period. Unlike her husband who grew up on hot sauce, she started eating it when she met him.
Michael said she’s the inspiration for the name of the sauce, which is now in almost 20 Central Coast stores from Paso Robles down to Santa Ynez. It’s sold in places like the Old Town Market in Orcutt, California Fresh Market in Pismo Beach, and SLO Ranch Farms in San Luis Obispo.
The label is printed in Paso Robles, and the bottles are packed in Nipomo. Michael said Hot Lil Mama also gets shipped across the state and country.
The process of making the sauce gets specific, Michael said. It’s no longer as simple as blending the ingredients in their kitchen.
“We had to figure out how long you have to blend stuff to get the consistency that you want,” he explained. “Since we have hibiscus in it, you have to boil the hibiscus first to make tea before you add it to the hot sauce. It oddly gets pretty involved, but it’s really cool.”
The label, doodled by Michael, sums up their relationship and, in turn, their company.
“In my head the character looks relentless. He looks kind of beat up and stuff, but ready to continue,” Michael said. “Every time we really wanted to do something, we’ve always been able to buckle down and talk through and figure it out.”
“It’s like funky, … pretty unique and bold,” Diana added. “That’s kind of like how we are too. Serious when we have to be serious, and then we just like having fun.”
When they started the venture, neither of them knew about the food industry. They’re both used to working in creative spaces. Diana remembered filling out stacks of frustrating paperwork before they could even make the product.
“A lot of the unknown but pushing through because we’re together,” she said about the early stages of the business.
“What has been really enjoyable is just being out in the community,” Michael said.
Customers have asked for a spicier version of Hot Lil Mama, which the couple is “95 percent sure” they’ll develop, Michael said. They plan to use Caroliina Reaper peppers to jack up the heat while maintaining the same flavor.
For now, Michael and Diana are proud of how far they’ve come in one year. Diana said she still likes to take pictures of Hot Lil Mama when she sees it in stores.
“It’s almost unbelievable,” Michael said. “I’m very happy that we’re doing this together.” ∆
Sun Staff Writer Madison White, from New Times’ sister paper, is turning up the heat. Send peppers to mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 23 – Nov 2, 2025.