Slice of Sauce

Slice of Sauce was a condiment company founded by married co-founders Emily Williams (CEO) and Cole Williams that converted traditionally bottled sauces — ketchup, sriracha, barbecue and hot sauce — into dehydrated, solid slices roughly the size of a slice of American cheese. The slices were designed to be peeled from a resealable pouch and laid directly on burgers, sandwiches and wraps, softening on contact with warm food, with the stated benefits of portion control, no drips or soggy buns, and no refrigeration requirement. Products were described as gluten-free, vegan and non-GMO, made from ingredients including ripe California tomatoes, Kosher salt, cane sugar, distilled vinegar, fruit pectin, and garlic and onion powder, with no high-fructose corn syrup or artificial additives, and a shelf life of up to 12 months.

The line launched in three flavors: Classic Ketchup, Spicy Sriracha and a co-branded Secret Aardvark Habanero Hot Sauce slice; a partnership with Frank's RedHot was also reported. Packs contained eight slices and were priced at $5.99. The company was based in Austin, Texas at the time of its 2021 press announcements. Production was carried out manually by the founders in commercial kitchens while they searched for a co-packer able to scale a product category that had not previously existed; the founders described roughly 2.5 years of product and process development. A planned 2020 retail launch was shifted to a direct-to-consumer online launch during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Founding story

The concept originated in the founders' home kitchen when Emily Williams was working with a barbecue sauce recipe from her father, a restaurateur, that called for braising vegetables and then discarding them. Rather than waste the vegetables, she blended and dehydrated them, expecting a spice rub, and instead produced a sheet of barbecue sauce. Cole Williams, a former chef, tried it on a burger, and the result became the basis of the product. Knowing ketchup was America's most popular condiment but frequently contained preservatives and high-fructose corn syrup, Emily developed recipes using cleaner ingredients over months of testing.

Business model

Consumer packaged goods: manufacture and sale of branded shelf-stable condiment slices in multi-slice retail pouches, initially sold direct-to-consumer online with an intended expansion into retail distribution.

Product sales of eight-slice packages priced at $5.99, taken initially through website pre-orders, with select retailers and brand collaborations for limited-edition flavors also cited.

Traction

A 2018 Kickstarter campaign with a $15,000 goal raised roughly $30,090 from more than 600 backers, reported elsewhere as over $34,000. At the time of the Shark Tank filming the business was pre-revenue with no launched product, and the founders had contributed $120,000 of their own capital alongside about $400,000 from friends, family and an accelerator investor. The televised episode produced a sharp spike in site traffic and pre-orders, some of which were fulfilled in early 2021, but stock shortages and unfulfilled or delayed orders followed.

Latest developments

Following the wind-down, Emily and Cole Williams launched RADD Foods, producing dairy-free cheese slice products including Frank's RedHot and ranch flavors, reported as stocked in more than 40 stores across Indiana and Lower Michigan. In 2024 RADD Foods won a competition to work with agency Bullish on a brand redesign, and Emily Williams took first place and the audience favorite award at a Michigan Women Forward pitch competition.