LOS ANGELES — Pasta sauce maker Sauz, which launched in 2023 by co-founders Troy Bonde and Winston Alfieri, is planning for expansion with its recent $12 million Series A funding round that was led by Cavu Consumer Partners. Key areas of expansion include more retail openings, new flavor additions and online expansion by the end of 2025, according to the company.
The round also saw investments from existing partners including Coefficient Capital, Palm Tree Crew and Strand Equity.
As part of the round Jared Jacobs, partner at Cavu Consumer Partners, has joined Sauz’s board of directors.
“Today’s pasta sauce aisle is a sea of sameness — products that look and taste similar, but lack excitement, originality, and any sense of discovery,” said Jacobs. “Sauz is bringing modern flavors and bold branding to a pantry staple that’s ripe for disruption. We’re thrilled to partner with Troy and Winston as they redefine how a new generation engages with the sauce aisle.”
Sauz is currently available in 7,000 retailers nationwide and comes in varieties including hot honey marinara, creamy Calabrian vodka, summer lemon marinara, wild rosemary marinara, cracked pepper and parmesan, brown butter alfredo and miso garlic marinara.
The products are formulated with diced tomatoes, tomato puree, yellow onion, extra virgin olive oil, tomato paste, water, garlic and other seasonings and ingredients.
“We started Sauz because we found ourselves hungry for something that simply didn’t exist: tomato sauce that made cooking easy, but that didn’t taste like the same blend of tomatoes and garlic we’d been eating for our entire lives,” said Alfieri. “Cooking is an opportunity to discover new foods and new flavors, and that’s why we’re on a mission to bring unexpected ingredients - like miso, brown butter, hot honey and summer lemon - to a product that’s as convenient and widely available as tomato sauce.”Enjoying this content? Learn about more disruptive startups on the Food Entrepreneur page.
