From Hand Sanitizer to Tomato Sauce - How Sauz Went From 10 Doors to 3,500 in a Year
Troy Bonde, co-founder and CEO of Sauz, explains how he and co-founder Winston used proceeds from a pandemic-era hand sanitizer dispenser business to bootstrap the tomato sauce brand, launching at Erewhon in July 2023. Bonde details how rigorous in-store demo data and unique flavors like hot honey and summer lemon marinara drove rapid expansion from 10 to 3,500 doors, including Whole Foods and Target, within 12 months. He discusses the strategic decision to raise institutional capital from Coefficient Capital to fund growth in a low-margin category, the challenges of fundraising with compelling but early-stage data, and the importance of hiring an ops lead early to manage unit economics and scaling.