Meet Dallas Hicks — Cultivating Heat & Heritage in South Carolina

Dallas Hicks never set out to be a pepper grower. But what began six years ago as a curiosity quickly turned into a calling. Nestled on a small plot of land in South Carolina, Dallas runs a family farm with the help of his wife, Caitlyn, and their young son, Owen — who already shows signs of carrying the torch someday.

Over the past four years, Dallas has taken a more serious turn in his growing, developing standout varietals like the fiery, floral 7-Pot Bubblegum x Naga Peach, and a striking pale cultivar known as WhyNot White, which may soon make its debut as a SpiceQuest Limited Edition.

In addition to fresh pods and seeds, the Hicks family is expanding into figs and cuttings — cultivating not just crops, but a slower, more intentional way of life. Every pepper that leaves their land carries a piece of that story: small-batch, homegrown, and built on the quiet hopes of passing something meaningful to the next generation.

Gator Jigsaw

Dallas grew and supplied the peppers for our Limited Edition: Gator Jigsaw—a sweet, fruity, mustard-green variety, lab-tested at 174,591 SHU and sold prefilled in a SpiceQuest push-button grinder.