Hardware Podcasts

Founder Feature: Chef V of Alchemy of Food

The Startup CPG Podcast · 13 Feb 2026 · 27m · Episode 257

What this episode covers

Chef V (Vasisht Ramasubramanian), founder of Alchemy of Food, explains how losing his sense of taste and smell to COVID-19 led him to create a clean-label sauce brand using real ingredients like Tennessee honey and Carolina spices. He details the transition from restaurant operations to CPG, highlighting the shift from sourcing small quantities to buying 55,000 pounds of honey and the scientific rigor required for pH levels and refractor readings. Chef V discusses validating product-market fit by selling at five farmers markets a week in summer 2025, his selection for Sprouts' innovation set, and the challenges of scaling production with co-packers while maintaining quality.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Sprouts
Products
Alchemy of Food, Yellowbird, Momofuku
Also
Culinary Institute of America, Shelfie Awards, Fancy Food Show

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