In the Sauce
Heritage Radio Network
Over 250 episodes and interviews across the CPG value chain. Alison Cayne shares Interviews with experts, retailers, and investors who can help founders and operators build sturdy consumer businesses. With hours of brass-tacks advice from finance, legal, operations, and supply chain experts to helpful hacks from brand marketing and social media specialists, ITS is the go-to podcast for emerging brands. In the Sauce is produced in partnership with Naturally New York, a community organization dedicated to fostering sustainable and responsible business practices, stimulating conscious business growth, supporting entrepreneurship, and cultivating exceptional leadership within the natural products industry in the Greater New York area.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 9, 2026 • 1h 2min
Building a Reason to Be
Alyssa Vescio is the Chief Merchandising Officer at The Fresh Market where she oversees merchandising strategy. Prior to TFM, Alyssa spend close to a decade at Whole Foods Market. On this episode of ITS, Alyssa explains the grocer side of the CPG equation: what their goals are, how to interact with them, what they're looking for from a brand.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Apr 2, 2026 • 1h 1min
Building the Best Culture
Jesse Merril is the Co-Founder and CEO of Good Culture, the company that made cottage cheese cool again. On this episode of ITS, Jesse tells the GC story, how they literally reinvented the cottage cheese company and why values may not always bring people into a brand, but definitely keep them there.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Mar 26, 2026 • 50min
Building the Right Team
Sean Conner is the Co-Founder of ForceBrands, the recruiting firm specializing in placing leadership and key operators across food, beverage, beauty, and wellness brands. On this episode of ITS, Sean and Ali talk people - from hiring, to firing, and full-time hires to fractional support. Sean also shares the best advice Ali's heard for early stage founders as they start.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Mar 12, 2026 • 56min
Building On The Right Numbers
Keegan Myles is Head of Business Operations at Confido, the end-to-end operations platform built specifically for CPG brands. On this episode of ITS, Keegan and Ali talk about how his experience at Simple Mills, MUSH, and PATHWATER led him to the team at Confido and why sales and operations planning with the right numbers are so critical to a brand's success.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Mar 5, 2026 • 1h 16min
Building on TikTok Shop
Cameron Gould-Saltman is a CPG growth leader, angel investor, and former Head of Food & Beverage at TikTok Shop, where he built one of the platform’s fastest-growing verticals by connecting emerging brands, creators, and consumers through social commerce. On this episode of ITS, Cameron explains all things social commerce: How to meet consumers where they are today and where they'll be tomorrow. Don't miss this one!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Feb 26, 2026 • 48min
Building on a Trick (or Two!)
Lucy Dana is the co-founder and CEO of One Trick Pony, the peanut butter rapidly gaining fame for its bright packaging that sits upside down on the shelf. On this episode of ITS, Ali and Lucy talk peanut butter problem solving, the new rules of social media, and how to build certain, lean and ready for learning.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Feb 12, 2026 • 57min
Building a Commodity into a Brand
Tenley Fitzgerald is the VP of Marketing & Brand Strategy at Yes! Apples, a brand bringing marketing, partnerships, and storytelling to family-run orchards in Upstate New York. On this episode of ITS, Tenley and Ali talk brand-thinking, consumer behavior, convincing farmers, retailers and consumers that "apples to apples" is a wild misunderstanding.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Feb 5, 2026 • 52min
Building Taste and Texture
Griffin Spolansky is the Co-Founder and CEO of Mezcla, the protein bar brand known for its bold flavors and distinctive “puff-crispy” texture. On this episode of ITS, Griffin and Ali talk about the bar category, getting partners to bet on your brand, and keeping your business as simple as possible.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jan 22, 2026 • 1h 6min
Building True
Abe Kamarck is the founder and CEO of True Made Foods, the clean-label ketchup and BBQ sauce brand made with real vegetables instead of added sugar. On this episode of ITS, Abe shares his experiences with Ali as True Made Foods has lived through the full arc of modern startup CPG: The go-go growth years, over expansion, broken partnerships, logistics chaos, and the hard work of cutting back to get profitable.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jan 15, 2026 • 58min
Building is an Art and a Science
Isabel Washington is the Founder and CEO of Laurel’s Coffee, the fast-growing RTD latte brand made with organic, regenerative A2 dairy. On this episode of ITS, Ali and Isabel talk about balancing conflicting consumer preferences, building for existing rituals, and the first thing you learn as a McKinsey consultant.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
