Sexy sauce sells.
That's possibly the thinking behind a South African food company's bottles of peri-peri and extra-hot sauces that come in torso-shaped packaging.
But now it seems that consumers are finding the bottles too hot to handle and the company is taking heat.
Two weeks ago Johannesburg-based public relations practitioner Bridget van Oerle's 11-year-old daughter asked why Calisto's Sauces was using women's bodies and breasts to sell chilli sauce.
In a post on Facebook, Van Oerle said the child had seen the torso-shaped bottles on a shelf at a local supermarket. The sauces also come in a male torso-shaped bottle.
"I do not think it is necessary to sell chilli sauce or a food product in men's or women's torsos. The product should be good enough not to use nudity to sell in a family environment - like a family supermarket."
She said in a country with a high rate of violence against women and children, the bottles were "totally inappropriate". "What are we teaching our boys and girls - that it's OK to use nude bodies in this context?"
But the company behind Calisto's Sauces questioned the notion that the torsos were naked. The Sauce Kitchen said it conceptualised the female version of the bottle as women in leotards silhouetted by the sauce.
"The specific complaint that gave rise to this question commented on nudity, but why would one assume they're naked? Full-body lycra outfits would give a more suitable description of the torsos and form of the bottles. Perhaps it is true that our own perspectives determine how we see the world," the company said.
The bottles were made to identify with "the indomitable sense of humour that our market has". The idea was conceived three years ago to grab attention, while at same time promoting the idea of body image positivity.
The company said though it appreciated Van Oerle's general unhappiness over the shape of the bottle, she kept changing the basis of her argument. "At first the complaint was centred around us being a sexist, immoral and misogynist brand. However, when the complainant found out that this is patently untrue as we have both genders represented, the argument changed."
Van Oerle said she could not accept the company's response that the bottles were no different to torso-shaped perfume bottles.
"Perfume bottles are marketed to adults. Adults can make their own decisions.
"This is a food product sold in a family store," she said.
Sauce Kitchen has, however, undertaken to remove the bottles from the Calisto's brand. The new names for the range will be The Senhor and The Senhorita.
The Cancer Association did not respond to queries about it receiving a donation from the sale of old bottles still on the shelves...