RETAILING : Karcher Enterprises Warms Up New Line of Carl’s Own Salsa and Sauces

There’s a hot new item at Carl Karcher’s.

Carl Karcher Enterprises, best known for its hamburgers, has concocted a spicy condiment called Carl’s Own Salsa.

The Anaheim-based fast-food chain, which owns and franchises 436 Carl’s Jr. restaurants, also has whipped up Carl’s Own Barbeque Sauce and Carl’s Own Hamburger Sauce.

The dark red toppings are named after the company’s founder, Carl Karcher, whose picture and signature are displayed on the bright red and yellow labels.

They were cooked up by Karcher Enterprises’ manufacturing division. The salsa is similar to the spicy red sauce served on the chain’s baked potatoes.

Cardboard boxes packed with one 12-ounce jar of each product appeared on selected doorsteps shortly before the holidays as “a private stock-type item,” said a Karcher spokesman. “Carl would give it to visiting dignitaries and city officials,” explained Dave Brickner, vice president and general manager of manufacturing and distribution.

Since then, the sauces have proven so popular that Karcher Enterprises is talking with “several marketing groups” about retailing them under Carl Karcher’s name at stores and possibly at Carl’s Jr. restaurants.

“The product’s so good that people have been approaching us,” said Brickner, who estimates the sauces should be on shelves “in a couple of months.”