In the Sauce

Gary Hirshberg is the CEO of the Hirshberg Entrepreneurship Institute and Co-Founder and Chief Organic Optimist of Stonyfield Farm, the company he grew from a small organic farming school in New Hampshire in 1983 to the world’s largest organic yogurt company. On the 200th episode of ITS, Gary shares his wisdom about product, sales, sustainability, and the entrepreneurship journey.In the Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.

Will Nitze is the founder and CEO of IQ Bar, the plant based protein company for your brain and body. On this episode of ITS, Will and Ali talk about his "shower thoughts" on Linkedin, how IQBAR built on e-commerce first, why they skipped straight to conventional, and the pros and cons of platforming.In the Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.

Dan Bubniak is the Chief Growth Officer at Dirty Hands, the field sales, merchandising, and brokerage partner on a mission to support better for you food brands. On this episode of ITS, Dan and Ali talk about winning at retail and how it's a hands-on, point of sale, compounding game.In the Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.

Amy Zitelman is the co-founder and CEO of Soom Foods, the tahini brand known by every restaurant chef – and now more and more consumers- across the US. On this episode of ITS, Amy and Ali talk about building what you know with what you have, which means taking a real inventory of your resources, skill-sets, and tolerance, then keeping disciplined to scaling that before launching into other categories, channels or products.In the Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.

Ashley Rouse is the founder of Trade Street Jam Co., the cheffy, small batch jams made without pectin, thickeners or extra sugar. On this episode of ITS, Ali and Ashley talk about the journey, the wins, and the lessons along the path to scale.In the Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.

Greg Wank is a partner at and the leader of Anchin's Food and Beverage and Branded CPG Practices. On this episode of ITS, Greg and Ali talk margins, working capital, cash, and taxes. As Greg says, it's not just that the game has changed in 2023, it's that playing field is completely different.In the Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.

Erica Rankin is the founder and Chief Everything Officer at Bro Dough; a functional cookie dough available in Canada soon to launch a new line in the USA. On this episode of ITS, Erica tells Ali how she built her massive (60k+) Linkedin community and TikTok following (200k+) and how vulnerability and honesty have helped her grow and pivot her business.In the Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.

Christina Dorr Drake is the CEO and co-founder of Willa's, the only oat milk that uses whole, organic oats. On this episode of ITS, Christina and Ali talk about the alt-milk landscape, the resurgence of real sustainability, and how Christina managed launching mid pandemic and mid cancer diagnosis.In the Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.

Michelle Cordeiro Grant is the founder and CEO of Gorgie, the first clean energy drink built by women, for everyone. Prior to building Gorgie, Michelle founded Lively, a "leisurée" brand that she grew from concept to an $105M acquisition three years later. On this episode of ITS, Michelle talks about the mental muscle of entrepreneurship, why she thinks of Red Bull as the Victoria's Secret of the energy drink market, and what it really means to crowd source a CPG product.In the Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.

Kari Pedriana is Co-Founder and CEO of Green Spoon Sales, the national natural food and beverage sales broker, specializing in emerging CPG brands, including Primal Kitchen, Lesser Evil, Quinn Snacks, Smart Sweets, Chomps and Midday Squares. On this episode of ITS, Kari breaks down the broker role, how to best think of relationships with distributors, selling trade shows vs. marketing trade shows, and why Green Spoon launched its accelerator program, take root.In the Sauce is Powered by Simplecast.