KANSAS CITY — Entrepreneurs are heating up innovations in the condiments, sauces and spreads category, with many drawing inspiration from what products are missing from their own lives.

When founder of Revival Food Co. Rachel Klein made the switch from peanut butter to almond butter, she wasn’t satisfied with the almond butter options she was seeing on the shelves.

“I couldn’t figure out why almond butter was the boring, ugly stepchild of peanut butter,” Ms. Klein said. “So, I just started making my own at home in a food processor.”

After coming up with her preferred formulation for almond butter, she eventually found herself at the 2019 Natural Products Expo East trade show, where a buyer from Walmart fell in love with her product. Now, Revival offers five flavors in addition to the original sea salt vanilla spread, available in 48 states.

Jake Deleon, founder and chief executive officer of Fila Manila, saw a need for Filipino foods and flavors on grocery store shelves.

Although Filipino Americans represent 19% of the nation’s Asian population, according to Pew Research Center, Mr. Deleon acknowledged the community is not represented in mainstream supermarkets. In the company’s first year, it captured national attention and received backing from venture capital firm Sputnik ATX and Kraft Heinz Co.

“While we’re committed to the success of our sauces, we want to show you the world of Filipino cuisine in the future,” he said, sharing plans for future products, including snacks, frozen desserts and more.

Fila Manila’s products are available online and in a handful of specialty retailers. They are gluten-free and vegan, sweetened with dates and formulated with no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners.

New York-based Loisa’s portfolio includes organic seasoning and cooking sauce products developed in collaboration with chefs in the Hispanic community. Co-founder Scott Hattis found that few, if any, brands authentically represented the heritage of so many consumers residing in the United States and saw the need for products “made with clean ingredients and really clean intentions,” he said.

Loisa added a sofrito to its product lineup, made in collaboration with Chef Yadira Garcia, who became an owner of the business.

“We are strong believers in the power of collaboration,” Mr. Hattis said. “This is really a brand and business we hope is built by its community, and that community also includes people we can partner with and collaborate with. Our relationship with Yadira is foundational, but at the same time absolutely we see the idea of elevating voices and people in their work from our community that are likeminded in the ideals of business as core to how we want to grow.”

Entrepreneurs are looking at what products they see a need for and are bringing consumers thoughtful products that have the flavors to shake-up the in the condiments, sauces and spreads category.

View slideshow of entrepreneurial innovations in the condiments, sauces and spreads category.