Launching a new product is a challenge, but the challenge most companies anticipate is a way to create demand for the product. Even the best plans need to be tweaked for unexpected hiccups at a product launch.
Pink Sauce creator Veronica Shaw, aka Chef Pii, is all too familiar with this. Chef Pii is a home chef from Miami, Florida who is also a social media influencer.
Chef Pii first introduced her Pink Sauce to the world on her TikTok channel in June 2022. The sauce looks a lot like smothering chicken in Pepto-Bismol, but luckily that’s not the case.
Pink Sauce quickly became a viral must-try when Chef Pii’s website began selling the highly sought-after sauce online for $20 a bottle on July 1, 2022, and sold out. That’s a brief turn from debuting a sauce to attempting to mass-produce the product. The quick retail debut was met with criticism over licensing and the health of customers.
“I want you to know that we have halted productivity and health is our top priority. Your trust is our top priority and makes you happy. And getting the pink sauce right is our top priority,” Chef Pii replied to her critics on Today.
Walmart adds a key gourmet partner
Chef Pii has partnered with Dave’s Gourmet, a sauce-making company that has described one of the sauces, Dave’s Insanity Sauce, as the “world’s hottest sauce.”
Dave’s Gourmet has been spoiling the world since 1993. After stepping in and applying their 30 years of experience, Dave’s Gourmet set out to re-launch the sauce to the public, taking on the role of Pink Sauce’s exclusive supplier and distributor. This partnership gives Chef Pii the opportunity to push the Pink Sauce brand and leave production to Dave’s Gourmet.
Pink Sauce needed yet another partnership to bring its naughty wonder to the world. Walmart (WMT) – Get a free report has reached an agreement to be the exclusive retailer of Pink Sauce until July 2023. Walmart will carry Pink Sauce in over 4,300 of its stores and it will also be available on Walmart.com. Walmart has over 4,700 stores in the United States alone, so not every US Walmart store will carry Pink Sauce.
The vegan and gluten-free sauce can be added to various dishes such as chicken, fries, pork chops, vegetables and salad. Pink Sauce was described to PopSugar as a “twist on ranch” by Marie Wright, Chief Global Flavorist at Archer Daniels Midland Co.
Not everyone likes Chef Pii’s pink sauce
The Pink Sauce craze didn’t come without a list of problems. The Miami home cook made mistakes introducing her unique condiment to the world, but not in the way you might think. She struggled with the production and the labels. The ingredients label appeared to have misspelled vinegar and the portions per bottle were also incorrectly listed.
Chef Pii responded to her critics by saying, “Number one, sorry, sorry, sorry,” she said on TikTok. “I’m only human, I’m not perfect.” She admitted she knew things weren’t delivered the way she expected.
Meeting the public’s expectations and enduring all that “feedback” didn’t put an end to Pink Sauce or its creator. It just went back to the drawing board to get things right. The sauce was still sold out, despite criticism of the taste, labeling and color.
Chef Pii responded to critics that the color wasn’t as vibrant as in the TikTok video by saying the sauce turned less light after complaining that it was too light. Now, of course, there were complaints that it wasn’t bright enough.
