In the Sauce

Rachel Simons is the Co-Founder and CEO of Seed + Mill , America’s first sesame concept store and producer of a range of products made from sesame seeds, including halva, tahini soft-serve, a range of spices and everyone's favorite tahini. On this episode of In the Sauce, Rachel and Ali flip things around, and Rachel interviews Ali on all things sauce: what's been happening with the team, what som...

Becca Parrish is the founder of Becca, the creative marketing agency behind mega brands like Health-ade, Casa Dragones, Le Bernadin, the Polo Bar and many, many more. On this episode of In the Sauce, Becca and Ali explore how a brand makes itself known and stays relevant in a sea of choices. They talk brand DNA, the rules around an elevator pitch, and Becca's biggest pet peeve. In The Sauce is pow...

Trinity Mouzon Wofford is the Co-Founder and CEO of Golde , a wellness brand that got its start with beautiful pouches of tonic powders and is launching a line of face masks this week. On this episode of In the Sauce, Trinity and Ali discuss sales channels, the power of independent stores, Golde's move into Sephora and why Trinity believes in building with wholesale partners instead of focusing on...

Cathryn Woodruff is the Director of Communications at Banza , the chickpea pasta company currently flying off the shelves. On this episode of In the Sauce, Cathryn and Ali break down the elements of communications, PR and marketing. They discuss brand voice, authenticity, storytelling and why, as Cathryn put it, it's critical to "act like a human. Not a brand." In The Sauce is powered by Simplecas...

John Lawson is the Northeast regional grocery buyer at Whole Foods Market . On this episode of In the Sauce, John tells Ali what he's looking for in emerging brands, what mistakes we can avoid, how to work with buyers to maximize sales and why we should see shelf space as a vote of confidence and an investment, but not the end-goal. In The Sauce is powered by Simplecast . See Privacy Policy at htt...

Raquel Tavares is the Founder and CEO of Fourth and Heart , the ghee company that has become a household name since they launched in 2015. On this episode of In the Sauce, Raquel and Ali discuss consumer education, product innovation, selling on Amazon and how Raquel built a killer brand. In The Sauce is powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy...

Grace Lachona is a Supplier Development Manager for UNFI NEXT , the program that mega distributor, UNFI, created to curate and incubate emerging brands. On this episode of In the Sauce, Grace and Ali talk about distribution, the numbers, how and when to open new distribution centers in new regions and how to avoid potential mistakes. In The Sauce is powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at htt...

Michael Kirban is the Founder and CEO of VitaCoco , the brand that brought coconut water to the US in 2004, and is now the global market leader, selling in hundreds of thousands of store here and abroad. On this episode of In the Sauce, Mike and Ali talk about the journey and lessons learned along the way: From selling cases bodega to bodega on his rollerblades, through Coke's acquisition of his b...

Homa Dashtaki is the Founder of White Moustache , a yogurt company with a cult-like following and a waitlist of over thirty retailers. On this episode of In the Sauce, Homa and Ali talk about authenticity and scale: Can they coexist? What gets sacrificed when you grow? What about when you don't grow? And again...how it always comes back to an amazing product. Photo Courtesy of Nicole Franzen In Th...

Dawn Techow is Cofounder of Relish Food Project, an outsourced CFO for emerging CPG food companies. On this episode of In the Sauce, Dawn and Ali talk about MONEY: Everything from accounting and bookkeeping, to what you need to know and clean up before you go out and try to raise capital. In The Sauce is powered by Simplecast . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy...

Carmel Hagan and Denise Woodard are the Founders of Supernatural , a clean baking pantry staple company (think natural sprinkles and coconut sugar) and Partake Foods , delicious cookies that also happen to be free from the top 8 allergens. On this episode of In the Sauce, Ali asks Carmel and Denise about their entrepreneurship journeys: Why and How they each founded their own company, lessons they...

David Mawhinney is the Founder of Franklin+Emily , a design forward children's furniture brand. He's also the former chef at Haven's Kitchen and before that, an accountant. On this episode of In the Sauce, David and Ali talk about taking the leap, following your gut and the things that need to be in place before you go out on your own. In The Sauce is powered by Simplecast . See Privacy Policy at...

Gracie Dulik is the Director of Sales at MatchaBar, a Brooklyn-based matcha tea company. On this episode of In the Sauce, Gracie and Ali talk about sales strategy, the process and challenges of opening distribution centers, building the right sales team and more. In the Sauce is powered by Simplecast . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.c...

Pat Jammet is a bit of a legend in the world of product marketing. After starting his career at Honest Tea , Pat took on Field Marketing at Sir Kensington's , eventually becoming VP of Marketing there. On this episode of In the Sauce, Pat and Ali talk about what founders should be thinking after the push onto the shelves: There's gotta be a team dedicated to the PULL off the shelves by happy consu...

Lauren Jupiter is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of AccelFoods , an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in consumer products. On this episode of In the Sauce, Lauren and Ali talk about how, why, and when companies should raise outside capital, what investors are looking for, and how founders can build a smart foundation so that when they go out to raise money, their financial ducks are...

Hannah Bronfman is a multi-hyphenate DJ, wellness guru, founder of HBFit , and now, author. In this episode of In the Sauce, Ali and Hannah talk about non-traditional routes to building businesses — how to take your stengths and the things that give you joy and build on them — to create brands and experineces that people want and need. In the Sauce is powered by Simplecast See Privacy Policy at ht...

Sierra Tishgart and Maddy Moelis met at summer camp 20 years ago and are now the Co-Founders of Great Jones , a kitchen company that launched a line of cookware two weeks ago. In this episode of In the Sauce, Ali, Maddy and Sierra talk about how to start a business with a friend: What to look for in a partner, how to organize the workload, and most importantly, how to preserve the friendship. In T...

Chris Psuik is Vice President at Dora's Naturals, a DSD (direct store delivery) distributor that distributes brands like GT Kombucha, Remedy Organics, Matchabar and Harmless Harvest. In this episode of In the Sauce, Ali and Chris talk about how a brand can work more effectively with its distributor and what mistakes growing food companies should try to avoid — They're joined by Sean (also from Dor...

Amy Stern is the Director of Operations at Chloe's Fruit , a frozen snack brand found in 10,000 grocery stores nationwide. In this episode of In the Sauce, Ali and Amy talk about supply chain and operations — what Amy refers to as "making the pops and moving the pops" — Amy shares advice about working with suppliers, having a deep understanding of your ingredients, and how to choose a co-packer. I...

Jesse Derris is the founder and CEO of Derris , a full-service brand strategy and communications agency headquartered in New York City. He is also the founder and managing member of Amity Supply, which invests in and supports early-stage consumer brands, and an advisor-in-residence at the Columbia University Entrepreneurship Program. Jesse and Ali talk about purpose: Why a company exists beyond ma...

Scott Norton is the Co-Founder of Sir Kensington's , the condiment company that took the world by storm in 2010 and was acquired by Unilever last year. In this episode of In the Sauce, Scott and Ali talk Culture: Why it's more than a ping pong table and some bean bags; why people are at the heart of all great businesses; how to create value for your team, and how even if you haven't formally codif...

Alex Ingalls is the Founder of Pilot Kombucha, a business she founded in 2015. Alex has leapt from a one-woman making, bottling and delivering process to a full production facility and three distributors. All to keep up with rapidly growing demnd. In this episode of In the Sauce, Ali and Alex talk about distinguishing yourself in a growing category, responsible expansion, and the balancing act of...

Gertrude Allen is CEO of Pet-Plate, a direct to consumer pet food business, as well as an investor, brand-builder and operator. In this episode of In the Sauce, Ali and Gertrude get down to brass tacks about all things fundraising. Gertrude breaks down when it's time to move from friends and family to angels and early stage institutional investors, the key metrics those investors will be looking f...

Kiki Von Glinow is Founder of Toast Media Group, a consultancy that helps brands with digital growth as well as social media strategy and management. After 6 years at HuffPost, first as a journalist, then leading programming, digital analytics and email marketing, Kiki went out on her own to demystify it all for her clients. Kiki and Ali discuss everything Instagram: From the infamous algorithm to...

Kara Posner is an attorney with The Giannuzzi Group, a law firm that specializes in growing, scalable consumer brands. Kara and her team are the attorneys who helped Ali and Katie set up Haven's Kitchen Sauces, creating the LLC, helping negotiate distribution contracts, writing equity agreements, and more. Kara and Ali discuss all things LEGAL: What founders should keep in mind as they build, issu...