PepperScale · Newsletter Sponsorship

Reach home cooks who are serious about spice.

Every Wednesday since 2019, Wicked Wednesday reaches a small, fiercely engaged audience of people who cook with chilies on purpose — and buy the hot sauces, seeds, spices, and gear that go with it.

~3,200engaged subscribers
~62%average open rate
6–10%click-through rate
~1,980opens every issue

The audience

PepperScale has been the web’s go-to chili pepper resource since 2013, treating peppers the way a sommelier treats wine: celebrating flavor and complexity, not just heat. Readers are home cooks, hot sauce devotees, pepper gardeners, and flavor-chasers who actively seek out spicy food and buy what goes with it: hot sauces, seeds and grow kits, spices, cookware, and specialty ingredients. They’re predominantly US-based, with a strong UK and EU following, and backed by a site reaching roughly 100,000 monthly sessions.

Why it works

  • Endemic, hyper-targeted reach you can’t buy through a display network — every reader self-selected into spicy food.
  • A ~62% open rate (roughly double the norm) means your message is actually seen, and clicks come from genuine buyers, not bargain-hunters.
  • Limited and vetted. Only relevant brands run, so placements stay useful to readers and valuable to you.

Placements & rates

Featured Sponsor$150 / issue

Top-of-issue native placement: about 60–80 words of your copy, an optional logo or product image, and one tracked link. One sponsor per issue.

Classified Mention$75 / issue

A short 1–2 line text placement lower in the issue — a lighter touch for a tighter budget.

4-Issue Package~15% off

Book four or more issues for a consistent presence (a Featured 4-pack runs $510). Repetition is where newsletter sponsorship pays off.

First-Timer Intro$99

Your first Featured placement, so you can see the results before committing to more.

Specs & process

You provide the copy (within the word count), an optional image (~600px wide), and a destination URL. PepperScale approves the final wording so it fits the newsletter’s voice and stays useful to readers. Every sponsored placement is clearly labeled “Sponsored.” Materials are due 5 business days before send.

A fit if you sell

Hot sauces, spicy snacks, seeds and pepper plants, grow kits and garden gear, spices and seasonings, cookware and kitchen tools, meal kits — anything a spice-loving home cook reaches for.

Book a spot

Tell us about your brand and which issues you’d like. We’ll confirm availability and next steps.

sponsorships@pepperscale.com