# #212 - King of Sauce: How Eric Skae Has Grown Carbone Fine Food into a $100M+ Brand

- Show: [The Startup CPG Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast)
- Published: 2025-09-02
- Length: 42m
- Episode: 190
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-09-02-212-king-of-sauce-how-eric-skae-has-grown-carbone-fine-food-into-a-100m-brand
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/231b0a65

## Summary

Eric Skae, CEO of Carbone Fine Food, explains how the brand scaled to over $100M in sales and 25,000 retail doors in under five years using a distribution-first strategy. He details the importance of product quality, specifically using Number 10 cans and fresh ingredients, and managing co-packers like Major Food Group to maintain consistency. Skae also discusses his lean team structure, capital efficiency, and advice for early-stage brands to build a data story in a single region before expanding.

## Outline

1. Introduction: Eric Skae and Carbone Fine Food's Growth
2. Distribution-First Strategy and Retail Velocity
3. Product Innovation: Mac and Cheese Alfredo and Premium Positioning
4. Ingredients, Process, and Quality Control
5. Team Building, Hiring, and Co-packer Management
6. Capital Efficiency and Funding Strategy
7. Advice for Early-Stage Brands and Channel Strategy

## Topics

- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Carbone Fine Food (company)
- Major Food Group (company)
- Rao's (company)
- Naked Juice (company)
- Arizona (company)
- Stop and Shop (company)
- Weikman's (company)
- Costco (company)
- Walmart (company)
- Kroger (company)
- Sainsbury's (company)
- Olipop (company)
- Poppi (company)
- Bertolli (company)
- Ragu (company)

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- [Advice Line with Mark Ramadan of Sir Kensington's](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-06-27-advice-line-with-mark-ramadan-of-sir-kensingtons) (How I Built This)
- [Advice Line with Brett Schulman of CAVA](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-07-04-advice-line-with-brett-schulman-of-cava) (How I Built This)
- [What It Really Takes To Build a Food Business: Part 2](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-10-25-what-it-really-takes-to-build-a-food-business-part-2) (How I Built This)
- [Sir Kensington's: Scott Norton and Mark Ramadan](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-10-23-sir-kensingtons-scott-norton-and-mark-ramadan) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

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