Graduates invested in Mexican snack sauce (7)
I believe the answer is:
tabasco
'sauce' is the definition.
(Tabasco is an example)
'graduates invested in mexican snack' is the wordplay.
'graduates' becomes 'bas' (I've seen this in other clues).
'invested in' indicates putting letters inside.
'mexican snack' becomes 'taco' (I've seen this before).
'bas' placed within 'taco' is 'TABASCO'.
(Other definitions for tabasco that I've seen before include "condiment?" , "A hot spicy sauce" , "Hot pepper sauce" , "Hot sauce made from capsicums" , "Spicy pepper sauce" .)