Sauz
Engineering a next-gen CPG brand
Services
websites
amazon
Overview
SAUZ is a premium jarred pasta sauce brand redefining a $4 billion category with bold, unexpected flavors and culturally relevant branding. Darkroom's engagement began at the earliest stage, building the brand identity, packaging and digital presence from scratch. Then, expanded into paid media, Amazon marketplace management and retention marketing as SAUZ scaled into nearly 7,000 retail doors nationwide.
Outcomes
+126%
Paid media revenue growth during Black Friday/Cyber Monday
x10
Amazon sales velocity increase over a 6-month engagement
A stale aisle waiting for a new brand language
SAUZ is a premium jarred pasta sauce brand built by Troy Bonde and Winston Alfieri, two childhood friends from Los Angeles who saw a gap in a category that hadn't been meaningfully disrupted in decades. The product was bold, Hot Honey Marinara, Miso Garlic, Creamy Calabrian Vodka, but the brand didn't yet exist in any visual or digital form. Darkroom identified that the opportunity wasn't just in marketing SAUZ, but in architecting the entire brand system from scratch: packaging, naming hierarchy, color palette, and digital presence, designed not only for the physical shelf but for cultural performance on platforms like TikTok and Instagram where the target consumer lives.
From brand build to 7,000 retail doors
Darkroom partnered with SAUZ across an 18-month brand development phase, building the visual identity, packaging system for 7+ SKUs, and getsauz.com on Shopify, then expanded into paid media, Amazon marketplace management, and retention marketing as the brand scaled into retail. The packaging design put flavor names at the top of the visual hierarchy, blending Gen Z-forward color with warm Italian tones to create a system that commands attention at Whole Foods and converts on a TikTok feed. On Amazon, Darkroom built the storefront, ran Sponsored Products, Brands, and Display campaigns, and activated Subscribe & Save, driving sales velocity up roughly 10x over six months until demand outpaced inventory. Paid media on Meta delivered 118% revenue growth during BFCM, and SAUZ creative consistently produced some of the strongest thumbstop rates in Darkroom's portfolio. The brand now sits in nearly 7,000 doors including Target, Kroger, Sprouts, and Wegmans, with a product, identity, and growth infrastructure built to scale together.
“Darkroom launched the Sauz brand and website. Our brand stands out on shelves and our website stands out online. It's something everyone asks us about.”
Troy Bonde, Co-founder & CEO, SAUZ
