Fermented.
Fresh.
Alive.
Verde Vivo
The Sauce Ingredients The Science Our Story Tasting Feedback
Verde Vivo
Living Green Hot Sauce

Verde
Vivo

Fermented Serrano & Pesto Blend

The sauce the market forgot to make. Pesto's herby richness. Green serrano's fresh heat. Lemon's bright tang. All fermented into something you've never tasted before.

🌶 Medium Heat 🌿 Fresh Basil 🍋 Bright & Tangy 🧪 Fermented 🇮🇹 Italian Soul
Verde Vivo coastal scene
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Verde Vivo
Spicy & Fresh
ASIJ Food Science
Fermented Serrano
Pesto Blend
Living Green
Verde Vivo
Spicy & Fresh
ASIJ Food Science
Fermented Serrano
Pesto Blend
Living Green
Verde
The Sauce

Pesto meets
fire.

You've had hot sauce. You've had pesto. But you've never had the two together — fermented, layered, alive. Verde Vivo was born from a gap in the market that three ASIJ seniors couldn't stop thinking about.

Bright and garlicky up front, with a creamy basil-parmesan body and a clean serrano heat that lingers without burning. Finish is herby, lemony, almost Mediterranean.

First hit
Bright garlic & lemon
Body
Herby pesto richness
Heat
Medium — clean build
Finish
Parmesan & basil
Verde Vivo bottle
What's Inside

Every ingredient,
a reason.

Click any ingredient to see its role in the sauce

🌶️
Green serrano
45g · de-seeded
Fermentation
🧅
Onion
1 whole · roughly chopped
Fermentation
🫑
Green bell pepper
1 whole · deseeded
Fermentation
🍋
Lemon
1 whole · cut
Fermentation
🧄
Garlic
2 cloves · whole
Fermentation
🌿
Fresh basil & spinach
2 cups · blended
Post-Fermentation
🎃
Pumpkin seeds
¼ cup · ground
Post-Fermentation
🧀
Parmesan
¼ cup · finely grated
Post-Fermentation
🫒
Olive oil
½ cup
Post-Fermentation
🍯
Honey
¼ cup · if needed
Post-Fermentation
🌶️
Green Serrano
THE HEAT ENGINE
The backbone of Verde Vivo. Half the seeds are removed to dial the heat to a medium level — present and exciting, but never overpowering. Serranos bring a crisp, fresh heat that's distinctly different from jalapeños or cayenne. During fermentation, the lactic acid bacteria transform the pepper's capsaicin compounds, mellowing the raw bite while building depth.
45g · Half de-seeded · Fermentation stage
Food Science

Lacto-fermentation:
the living process.

Verde Vivo isn't just mixed — it's fermented. We used lacto-fermentation, a process where naturally occurring Lactobacillus bacteria convert sugars into lactic acid, lowering the pH and preserving the ingredients while building complex flavor compounds impossible to achieve any other way.

We tracked our fermentation over 23 days using a calibrated pH sensor (Sensor #0610C0V3). As pH dropped from 2.7 to 3.52, the bacteria broke down the cell walls of the peppers and aromatics, releasing volatile flavor molecules and creating that characteristic funky, tangy depth.

The low pH environment also acts as a natural preservative — inhibiting pathogenic bacteria while allowing the beneficial Lactobacillus strains to thrive and do their work.

23
Days Fermented
3.52
Final pH
5°C
Storage Temp
Fermentation pH over time Sensor #0610C0V3
Day 0
pH 2.7
Day 14
pH 3.47
Day 23
pH 3.52
As fermentation progressed, the pH rose slightly from its initial acidic baseline, indicating healthy Lactobacillus activity. The rise from 2.7 → 3.47 over 14 days reflects active lactic acid production. Stabilization at 3.52 by day 23 signals fermentation completion — the microbiological "sweet spot" for flavor and safety.
Day 0 fermentation
Day 0 — Start
Day 14 fermentation
Day 14 — Active
Goes on everything

One sauce. Endless tables.

Verde Vivo on nachos
On a burgerBold, saucy, unforgettable
Verde Vivo on eggs
On eggsBreakfast just got Italian
Verde Vivo on pasta
On pastaMediterranean in every pour
Verde Vivo on a hotdog
On steakMediterranean meets the grill
Verde Vivo on wings
On salmonHerb heat meets the sea
Verde Vivo on a sandwich
On a sandwichThe Italian upgrade you needed

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Our Story

The gap no one
filled.

It started in a food science class at the American School in Japan. Three seniors — Kate, Roan, and Upe — kept coming back to the same question: why doesn't anyone make a hot sauce that tastes like the Mediterranean?

"We all loved pesto. We all loved heat. But every hot sauce on the shelf was either vinegar-forward or purely spicy. Nothing had that fresh, herby, garlicky soul."

The market gap was obvious. Traditional hot sauces dominate with cayenne and vinegar. Pesto sits in its own corner, never considered a "sauce for everything." Verde Vivo bridges the two — using fermentation to fuse flavors that were always meant to exist together.

Born in a high school lab in Tokyo. Inspired by the Italian coast. Made for anyone who's ever thought hot sauce could be more interesting.

Verde Vivo story
ASIJ
Food Science
Class '26
The Sauce
Verde Vivo jar
Coastal edition
Mediterranean soul
Verde Vivo in the kitchen
Kitchen-ready
At home on any counter
Why does no one else make this?

Food-curious people who love bold Mediterranean flavor have been reaching for pesto and hot sauce separately for years. Verde Vivo is the first sauce built for people who want both — without compromise.

For home cooks For flavor seekers For spice lovers
Coming Soon

Be the first to get a jar.

Verde Vivo is in its final batches. Drop your email and you'll be first to know when it ships — and first in line for early pricing.

No spam. Just Verde Vivo.

The Team

Meet the founders.

Three ASIJ seniors. One shared obsession with flavor. Zero compromise.

I
Kate
Kate
Head of Flavor · Chief Taste Tester
The palate behind Verde Vivo. Kate drove every flavor decision — from the precise serrano-to-basil ratio to the finishing touches of honey and parmesan. If it didn't taste right, it didn't make it in.
II
Roan
Roan
Head of Science · Fermentation Lead
The scientist of the operation. Roan managed the 23-day fermentation process, tracked pH levels daily, and made sure the Lactobacillus cultures were doing exactly what they were supposed to.
III
Upe
Upe
Head of Marketing · Brand Director
The voice of Verde Vivo. Upe identified the market gap, shaped the brand identity, and made sure the world understood what made this sauce different from everything else on the shelf.
Upcoming Event

Taste it
yourself.

We're bringing Verde Vivo to the ASIJ bus turnaround. Come try the sauce that started with a question and ended with something genuinely new.

📅
Date
April 29, 2026
🕚
Time
11:00 – 11:40 AM
📍
Location
ASIJ bus turnaround
🎟️
Admission
Free — all welcome
Try it & leave feedback →
Completely free · No signup required · Just show up
Tasting Feedback

April 29 · ASIJ bus turnaround · 11:00–11:40am

🌿

Grazie mille!

Your feedback means everything to us. Glad you came out today.