YouSaid · the spoken record

Alison Roman

lines on the record

66

first

2026-02-23

most recent

2026-02-23

sittings or episodes

1

sources

podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

1. “This is a perfect diary entry of following a small business. I really am at the very, very start, and I think it would be really fun to come back if and when things change. And this has been great. I love talking about this stuff. Amazing. What a pleasure.”

   2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

2. “I became too close to the due date, which is good because I went into labor a month early, but I can't imagine having done that at the same time. So thank God I put a pause on it. I was like, and we also redesigned the labels. Like it was a good reset. It was almost like a false start. But anyway, we launched in September and I had these beautiful photos taken and like I had all these ideas for campaign and marketing. And we sold out immediately. And I was like, okay, well, maybe I'll do it the next week once we're back in stock. We kept selling out at such a clip that I couldn't really ever talk about it. So I feel like in a way we haven't fully even launched with its full potential.”

   2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

3. “With tomato sau Yes. Very much so. And it's good. And I think that to me, the biggest drawback there is that we launched in September. And also the reason it took so long is because I had a baby. I was like about to, we were going to launch it and push it.”

   2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

4. “Know, of course, that's why the obvious choice is to be sold in a store because you're not dealing with any of that. And I think a lot of, to me, respectable D2C brands evolve into retail only. But at first, doing the D2C model to like get people into it, to get people hooked, to get people excited about a product sort of, then you can show those bigger retailers, like look at all the people who already love this product, who are going to buy it in your store.”

   2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

5. “Them. You send it to your parents, you send it to yourself. Here's a bunch of empty jars. Enjoy. No, you put the sausage. Yeah, there's a lot of like a few trial and error situations and some of them are aesthetic choices of like, oh, I don't like the way this is, or how does it feel to open it? Is it complicated? Is annoying? Is there too much material? Does it feel wasteful? All of those things were deeply, deeply considered. And then to say nothing of like, do you put a card in there? Do you put a note? Does it come with a ribbon? Like the aesthetic choices, which also add cost. And so.”

   2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

6. “Better the packaging, the more expensive the packaging. And so we someone told me it was like they're like it feels like an old school election box where like, how am I going to break into this box? She's like, but all the jars arrived intact. And that was really important to us. So we spent a little bit more money on the packaging. Wait, how do you actually evaluate the jars? Are you like tossing them around or?”

   2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

7. “Are, you know, we looked into, we had a co packer or a 3PL in California, and we're like, okay, so we're going to ship the sauce from Brooklyn to LA, and then it's going to go out to the rest of the country. We're like, no, that's going to add $1.50 per jar or whatever. So you look at every consideration, okay, this might be slightly more expensive here, but we're saving here, so that's actually the better choice. But again, it's scale. So we could be jars could fluctuate within a few cents. The packing materials was something that we really considered because jars cannot explode on their way to you.”

   2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

8. “Yeah, that hasn't fluctuated too much. Again, that's really a scale question. So the reason why D2C doesn't quite work for a business model in this way with something like tomato sauce is because jars are heavy. Jars of sauce are even heavier. So you're shipping will always be the thing that gets you. And so”

   2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

9. “Because it's too ugly, but also I understand that. Part of encouraging someone to eat something is it has to look good. And it also has to sound good. So the writing has to be there and the photo has to be there and everything works in conjunction. But it was just an interesting exercise. And I think that I said something to the effect of like we're not developing recipes, we're designing them. And I think that a lot of people lead with aesthetics and what they think will, quote, perform well versus thinking about is something like a soulful, authentically created recipe.”

   2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

10. “Yeah, and I think it was sort of, you know, what about this food? Like, are we going to make this food on the internet anymore? Because I had considered what could I develop for this?”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

11. “So, as a reaction to this, I developed this recipe for pork cooked in milk, which is a very old Italian recipe. It's ugly as hell. It is just sinful. It is beige and clumpy with milk curds and soft looking and it's really disgusting. But wow, does it taste good? It's like truly incredible.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

12. “Smart way. But I was thinking a lot about this recently because it feels like most people now, especially on the internet, are making food to look good. They're reverse engineering of like what's going to look beautiful and what's going to look great. And this is going back to, I worked at BuzzFeed Food for approximately eight months, 15 years ago. Or 10 years ago, how long ago? I don't know, it was too long ago. Anyway, but it was sort of like I would watch them in the way that they considered what recipes to run and what they would make videos out of. And it was always like, well, what has cheese and what has cream and what has this? And it was always reverse engineered from a visual perspective. And I think that we're still sort of in that, even if it's a lady in her kitchen or a guy in his kitchen with like a forward-facing iPhone.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

13. “They let it lapse, and so this group of people, one of whom was a friend of mine, took it over and relaunched it as basically a website and newsletter. So very interesting thing that they're doing is a very different tone of voice, very different vibe. It's sort of like pirates that took over a ship and you're like, oh, this is not the same gourmet. But I think in a very fun and”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

14. “Yeah, it's funny. I just wrote an article about this for the newly relaunched gourmet magazine, which I don't know if you guys heard about that or what they're doing, but the Connest trademark for gourmet, the old magazine, had lapsed.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

15. “And the need to staff and da da da, that's pretty appealing to a small business owner. And I think it's very predatory. I think it's very sort of like we can help you stay alive. And it's like, well, at what cost, because you're then sort of, you know, I don't know. And some of these businesses never start as a brick and mortar. They are only an idea or they do take big name chefs and say, we can do like a fried chicken concept with your name on it. And when you look on DoorDash or Wonder or whatever, it looks like a real restaurant. Yeah. So, you look like you think you're ordering from a neighborhood restaurant. But it's not a neighborhood restaurant.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

16. “That is literally my personal hell. And I think also where they get you is they tell you a small business owner who's like a chef who has a restaurant. My rent's going up. I can't afford $20,000 in rent because blah, blah, blah, door dash. Okay. So they come in and say, we can give you the space, but no one can really eat in your restaurant. So you're basically cutting out the entire reason for a restaurant to exist. And there are so many restaurants whose business is like 85% delivery and you walk in and they're empty, but they're able to stay alive because of delivery. So if you take away that rent.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

17. “And I think that there is to me that devalues what I actually do Having tomato sauce and then making something with that tomato sauce feels very different to me. I also understand meeting people where they're at. And if they're not going to make tomato sauce from scratch, at least they're cooking something at home, even if it's opening a jar and adding something to it and blah, blah, blah. That to me is not a far cry. But the ghost kitchen, the delivery, the... It's to me very impersonal, it freaks me out. I don't care for it. I think it's like a weird licensing of your name in a way that feels really inauthentic to me.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

18. “Pitch is people want high quality chef made food, you have a name, people would go crazy to have Alice and Roman's shallopasta made by Alison. But I'm not actually making that for you. But that I'm not claiming to.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

19. “All I know is that if my husband and I order from our favorite Sechron restaurant, which is down the street embarrassingly enough, sometimes we do pick up. But if we're getting it delivered, that can be upwards of Hundred plus dollars. And so let's say you're ordering from a more expensive place and you're doing it seven nights a week. Yeah, $700 plus it really, I could see how you get there.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

20. “I think the broader landscape, and we're noticing this in TV and also in newsletter culture, both in fashion, food, cultural criticism, politics, we're sort of going back to. You know, lived through the various cycles of media and everything is returning to itself. Know, I'm sure they'll disband again and it'll become more about the individual. And now it's coming back to magazines.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

21. “Be pleased to know that on my website there's a tab at the beginning that says jump to recipe. And you can always just click on it and skip all the text.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

22. “You know that that is like the utility user, and like that. I'd rather you do that than just go on AI to like be like what, you know, recipe with that.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

23. “Good editors or editors at all. I don't know an editor. And one thing that I learned while working in magazines is you have to ask yourself who cares? And so if I find myself blabbing on about something, I think about that person being like, why do I care about this? And I have to justify it. And oftentimes I edit stuff out all the time or I'm like, that's boring or stupid or only I think that's funny or that's too niche or it doesn't need to be here. I'm very cognizant of the fact that if something is too long, people's eyes glaze over. They don't care. They are going to lose interest. So you really fight for every word. That's especially true in a cookbook because you have to keep it to a certain length. Otherwise, it doesn't get printed. And, you know, there's a lot that goes into that for me anyway. And I think each person that writes recipes or whatever in the food world will have a different answer. That's mine.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

24. “So that also said I always felt very defensive of that complaint because I'm a writer and I part of what I do is writing. And I also think that's a huge part of my success because people are like emotionally invested in what I'm asking you to do and also selling you something. I'm like, okay, you might not want to make lentil soup, but I'm going to write something that is so compelling that you're going to be like, oh my God, I have to make this lentil soup. And that is part of my job. And so. I do respect that though. And interestingly enough, it's one of my favorite things to do when I'm writing actual cookbooks because you're limited to the page versus the internet you could write forever. Most people don't have.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

25. “It's because I think people care, or it makes you a better cook. And it provides context and richness to the story of the recipe. That also said, I often separate the text from the recipe. So I write in such a way that often, like for my newsletter, for example, there's many, many words about something. It could be a sweater or my baby or a tomato sauce. And then you jump to the recipe, which has like maybe six sentences about like why you need to do what I'm asking you to do so you don't skip it and mess up the recipe and then the recipe but you can always jump to it”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

26. “Well, originally, the reason that I think that where those complaints originated from is blog culture, which predates sort of recipe database like Bonapartit, New York Times cooking, et cetera, because basically in order for those bloggers to get ad revenue, the person had to scroll a certain amount. They couldn't just go to the page and click because they wouldn't see the ad. So the ad revenue couldn't support them. That is, I think, like 90s sort of reasoning. For me, as a person who writes those things,”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

27. “How will I make more money? I just thought, wow, this is great. I'm so happy. I love cooking. And so to end up here and be like, okay, I can like put a small amount towards this, but we've sort of reached the end of that road of the money that I was willing to bet on it. And it was sort of like. I thought pretty low stakes. I was like, I believe in the product. I know it's going to sell. And it did, and it was great. And so now it's time to consider what's next and how do you consider what is a middle class small business? Because it feels like it's only extreme farmers market, mom and pop, but nobody knows who you are, except if you live in the town, or $5 million debut at Target.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

28. “Knowing that those things, like no one gets into the restaurant business to make money. I started working in restaurants when I was 19 making $750 an hour. And I never once thought.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

29. “There's like all of these jokes Sun dried tomatoes or something like why isn't there a cream cheese for me? And you're like, yeah, I mean, if you have a dream, you know, and I think that is very inspiring when you can have a job that makes you so much money. And then you're like, wait, this is Soulless. And actually, I just want to like make granola. Sure, that's great. I think that for me, I've always sort of been the inverse where I've dedicated my life to cooking and food and like the whole act of it”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

30. “Money unfortunately trumps all. So I feel like always sort of at a disadvantage without that as my thing in the back pocket because a lot of brands that begin, they begin from a guy in a vest. You know, and I don't have that.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

31. “Yeah, and I would obviously never call myself. Excitement. It's built in by it, you know, and so I think for me, again, I take that very seriously, that responsibility very seriously. But it is great to know that most of it seems like what the money goes towards in addition to hiring is marketing. Because if you're just like a person that's like, no one knows who you are, you don't have any food background, but you're like, I'm going to start a insert blank here, you know company that is food, well, yeah, if you come from the tech world, if you come from the business world, you're already a leg up on me in a lot of ways, but I'm a leg up on you in a lot of ways. But one.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

32. “And so it becomes sort of this personality vetting, and who do we vibe with? Who do you think understands you that it doesn't just see dollar signs? And it's, again, built on trust. And like, who's going to really be in this with you to best advise what's best for you, the business owner, and also the product and not just sort of treat you like a mouthpiece for a thing that can make the money?”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

33. “I will say I sort of did everything that was easiest first, which was developing the recipe, figuring out the label. Like the creative fun stuff that I feel qualified to weigh in on and execute. And now we're at the hard part where it's like, okay, we've made the sauce. We've sold it. People love it. Okay, that feels like the hard part for a lot of people. For me, that was the easy part. And now, you know, I was saying to someone the other day, like, what I'm really craving is an adult in the room. And I need a boss in this venture. You know what I mean? Like I'm so, okay, I have the sauce. It looks great. It tastes great. People want it. How do what now? And I need somebody who knows what they're doing to come into the room and say, here's the order of operations. Here's how much that's going to cost. Here's who's going to do that. Like when you're starting a business like this, there's nobody to tell you. And so you do sort of feel a little vulnerable to people that are like, I can help you.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

34. “Firmly in well made products that are built to last that never go out of style. And to me, this is that. And I'd rather be successful over a really long term than like a flash in the pan or like hot right now and then next year nobody cares and then I'm.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

35. “There must be a lot of, yes, the inbox is very busy right now, and I will say primarily women, which is really encouraging. And yeah, I think there's always somebody that's like, I can help you. And then some people that are like, I want skin in the games. Some people are like, I want to help you find the money so that I can have skin in the game in the future. And I think that these companies become so hot and then often plateau or crash or people don't care anymore. Protein's no longer a thing. Nobody wants to drink this type of thing. But to me, I'm such a legacy brand person and I believe so.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

36. “Really curious and excited, and I actually think that there's a lot of benefit to not knowing because I think getting hung up on how things are done and what is the norm kind of limits you.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

37. “We just do a quick follow up. Well, it's so funny. I'm sure anyone listening to this that does know a lot about CPG is like, this woman has no idea what she's talking about. But I believe that's part of my charm in that I kind of jump into everything that I do.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

38. “Co packer that I know can fulfill and execute at the level that I want. And, you know, these questions are being asked and answered very quickly. And if we had done this meeting next week, I probably would have a better answer for you.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

39. “And then also This is exactly where I'm at right now. I'm like in the thick of these conversations of trying to figure that out because do I find a new co-packer that can meet the needs of potentially being in Whole Foods, well, then without a Whole Foods contract, I'm sitting on potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars of product and where does that product go, then I'm paying for storage for that product. So how do you move that without having that deal in place? You also, I would imagine Whole Foods is not going to give you something unless they know for certain that you can produce it. And I'm assuming they want some proof of concept. But right now, it's very chicken or the egg. And I'm sort of like, okay, what has to happen first? Is it the person who's going to get me that relationship with Whole Foods? Is it the...”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

40. “Know, and thought to themselves, well, I'll never make tomato sauce because I make my own. And now their lives have changed and their perspectives are different. And they're like, you know what? I might buy tomato sauce. How are you thinking about”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

41. “It is familiarity, but it above all, people are like, I know this works, or I know when she recommends something, it is good. And so it stands to reason if I'm going to make, if I'm going to put my name behind something and like put my own money behind starting a company, like this isn't a money grab. You know, it's not the most lucrative thing I do. It's a definite loss leader, but it's sort of for now. Anyway, but I think that there is a, hopefully, I would imagine people would think if she's going to do this, I know it's going to be good. And I get a lot of feedback on the sauce. People saying I've never bought sauce in my life, but I am curious. Or it's people that were like me 10 years ago cooking from dining in, cooking from, you know, nothing fancy, well, eight years ago.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

42. “Yeah, I think that I am very fortunate to have been in this industry for as long as I have. And I think that with that comes a reputation and trust. And you cannot buy that trust and you cannot force it to happen over a short period of time. And I think that”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

43. “It could hurt. I think that if you are a lesser known quantity, that's probably a must. I would want you to know what I'm selling you and why you should invest in it. It's giving shark tank. But I think for me, I've been very fortunate that I've already sort of been approached by people that are like, I like what you do. I like everything that you do. Everything you do works. And like, I have no reason to believe this would be any different. Even though I do know, given the saturation of the market and how crowded it is, it is sort of, why would you enter into what was effectively the most crowded market? Again, I see my contribution as being unique.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

44. “I don't yet, but that would ostensibly be it. I think that for me personally, I've self funded every project I've ever done. And I've kind of taken this to its maximum in that I'm not that in the red and I will be whole probably by the end of the year, which is great. It's more that I want to be sure if I'm going to ask for money. I want to ask for money from people that understand me and are not expecting me to be someone else or model my business after those other ones that they see as being successful. And I say that today. Ask me next year and I might be in a different position. But I think it's sort of, you know, a friends and family round style or one main investor who sort of sees me, sees the goal and is like, I want to be the lead and I want to be sort of the primary.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

45. “What's my exit? Okay, in six years we could, you know, it's like, what happened to just making a great product that people are really into? And I think I have the luxury of having 42 other jobs. And so, you know, I'm a writer. I do video. I make cookbooks. And I think that knowing that this isn't my primary, you know, the one thing that I'm betting on, but I do think that there's a sort of credibility that's been lost in developing products. And I think that people are going to start to want that. And I think that they're going to be like, well, why would I buy this person's tomato sauce? Like, because I'm seeing it everywhere or this one because I trust it that it comes from a good place.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

46. “That it sacrifices the quality or the integrity, or puts me in a position to grow the business faster than I want to. And I think it's interesting because a lot of times people start businesses, especially in the food CPG world, where the immediate thought is before they've even made the product, how do I sell it?”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

47. “Exactly. And it also means that there's a lot of pressure to increase SKUs and marketing. And it's to me a very overwhelming landscape that is not rooted in authenticity or something being good. And that to me is always going to be the most important thing that I do. I also want to do it intelligently and make sure that it's not like a financial crazy firestorm. But I think that right now, literally today after this, I'm going to a few meetings, but I am right in the thick of it of figuring out that the answer to that question of like who do I hire? How do I hire them? At what level? Who's going to actually help me? Basically, my desire is to hire somebody, two people, three people who are excellent at what they do. I am not a business person. I am a tomato sauce person. I make tomato sauce and I make really good tomato sauce. I don't know how to do these other things. And what I do know is that I'm not trying to scale up at such an intense rate.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

48. “Yeah, I mean, it seems like what you're fed in terms of like the media coverage of brands and you're like, oh, this brand has $3 million out the gate and this brand has six million. That doesn't mean that brand's going to succeed. That doesn't mean that that brand is going to million dollars.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

49. “That was a lot back then, but guess who else made jam and mell? Tell us about your jam meeting. I mean, that was a million years ago when I first moved to New York and I was working at Milk Bar at the time and used their commissary kitchen to sort of decide I was going to make jam and sell it at the Williamsburg Smorgasburg when it first launched. Same thing. 2010's lore. Oh yeah, baby. And, you know, handwriting each label, like getting beautiful wek jars, which costs $4 a piece. Like the economics were so poor. I didn't care. I wanted to do it anyway. And as long as we could make more money to buy more jars and then make more jam, obviously that was not sustainable. It didn't last for very long, maybe a year and a half, but same concept where, okay, in order to get this actually done and to actually turn a profit, you're like, okay, well, that's why people go for the jugular immediately and seek out, you know, investment and say we need to be in target to launch.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

50. “Basically, that is sort of the issue with CPG in general. And if you want to make a small mom and pop, like locally sourced, like beautifully made responsibly, pay your workers excellent wages. And it's going to be like a $38 jar of tomato sauce. And it's going to be a very limited market of people that are willing to pay for that. And I look at my local grocery store and I, the first thing I do is I go to the tomato sauce aisle. I'm just like, got to know what's going on over there. But you see Rayos and Carbone on the same eye level and additional merchandising behind you. And they are both on sale for $8.99. And that's a 32 ounce jar. Our jars are 16 ounces and 12.99 or 12 dollars retail.”

    2026-02-23 · Odd Lots · Alison Roman's Plan to Conquer the Tomato Sauce Market · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source