Sauz Secures $12 Million Investment Led by CAVU Consumer Partners To Bring Modern Tomato Sauce to the Next Generation

Funding Fuels Retail Growth and Innovation for the Fast-Growing, Gen-Z Founded Company

LOS ANGELES, June 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Sauz, the brand known for ushering in 'a new generation of tomato sauce', today announced that the company has successfully closed a $12MM funding round led by CAVU Consumer Partners, a leading growth equity fund widely known for backing and building iconic consumer brands. The round also included investment from existing partners such as Coefficient Capital, Palm Tree Crew and Strand Equity. Sauz aims to use the capital from this raise to catalyze marketing, awareness, innovation and distribution growth. Consumers can expect to see more retail openings, additional new flavor SKUs and a larger online footprint by the end of 2025.

"Sauz brings new flavor, new tone, and new experiences to shoppers who are hungry for more from their pasta sauces, and we're thrilled to have CAVU as a partner behind us as they not only believe in our potential, but are known for identifying and accelerating the next generation of iconic consumer brands," said Troy Bonde, Co-Founder & CEO of Sauz. "We have many exciting things planned for the future and, with CAVU's support, we're ready to scale this vision with even greater velocity."

Sauz has experienced meteoric growth in a short period of time; in addition to the capital raise, the company experienced a 148 percent increase in overall revenue and a 250 percent increase in online sales. Now available in nearly 7,000 retail doors nationwide with seven sauce varieties, Sauz continues to see best-in-class velocities in retail and is eager to build upon this momentum with CAVU's support.

"At CAVU, we love backing brands that reimagine consumer categories and challenge the status quo," said Jared Jacobs, Partner at CAVU Consumer Partners, who 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. 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."

"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 Winston Alfieri, Co-Founder and CMO at Sauz. "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."

Sauz was founded by childhood friends Troy Bonde and Winston Alfieri on the idea that jarred tomato sauce - a product that's both inherent to grocery store aisles and largely ignored by most consumers - was ready for a much-needed upgrade. Sauz combines high-quality ingredients with genuinely innovative flavors and bright, colorful packaging to bring a sense of adventure back to the tomato sauce aisle. With flavors including Hot Honey Marinara, Summer Lemon Marinara, Cracked Pepper and Parmesan, Brown Butter Alfredo and Miso Garlic Marinara, the company has rapidly expanded its retail footprint, having launched at Target, Whole Foods, Kroger, Sprouts and more – with additional product and retail launches still in the wing for 2025.

Consumers can find Sauz at https://getsauz.com/ as well as retailers nationwide including Target, Whole Foods, Kroger, Sprouts and more.

ABOUT SAUZ

Launched in 2023 by childhood best friends, SAUZ has quickly distinguished itself as a disruptor in the pasta sauce category with its vibrant packaging and unique flavors. Founded on the belief that pasta night should never be boring, SAUZ delivers restaurant-quality sauces with a twist—think Hot Honey Marinara, Brown Butter Alfredo, and Summer Lemon Marinara. Made with premium ingredients and unexpected flavor combos, each jar is designed to inspire creativity in the kitchen and bring people together. In less than two years, the brand has expanded into more than 7,000 retailers nationwide including Target, Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Kroger.

SOURCE Sauz