Alison Roman is a cult figure in the world of food media. Several of her recipes have gone viral. She's written multiple hit cookbooks. And her newsletter is incredibly popular. Now, she's putting her name on consumer goods, recently launching a new line of high-end jarred tomato sauce called, appropriately, A Very Good Sauce, which she sells direct online. So what has she learned about the consumer goods industry and its supply chain? On this episode, she explains why she entered the space, how she thinks about carving out a niche, and everything she's learned from figuring out shipping to co-packing to designing a recipe that can be cooked in high volume. We also talk generally about the world of food and food media and how she thinks about bridging content and commerce. Chapters: 00:00:00 - The Economics of Premium Food 00:01:21 - Introduction and Market Context 00:04:12 - From Recipe Writer to Sauce Maker 00:06:34 - Market Differentiation Strategy 00:09:26 - Scaling Recipe Production 00:11:31 - Production Scale and Co-Packing 00:12:14 - Supply Chain and Logistics 00:15:18 - Ingredient Sourcing and Cost Pressures 00:17:26 - Historical Context: Early Jam-Making Experience 00:18:31 - Business Scaling and Financial Strategy 00:22:29 - Investment and Funding Considerations 00:23:17 - Celebrity Brand Advantage 00:25:16 - Distribution Challenges 00:26:58 - Industry Expertise and Decision Making 00:28:18 - Current Business Challenges 00:29:55 - Media vs Product Business Models 00:31:57 - Industry Trends and Positioning 00:33:30 - Food Media and Recipe Writing 00:36:19 - Technology and Food Media 00:38:17 - Media Industry Cycles 00:39:07 - Food Delivery and Ghost Kitchens 00:43:37 - Food Aesthetics vs Authenticity 00:47:10 - Current Business Economics 00:49:45 - Capacity and Growth Constraints 00:50:41 - Future Plans 00:51:10 - Conclusion and Show Wrap-up Watch Bloomberg Vodcasts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0MS0Tqk_zQl1LVVTdWuH2Di Watch more Odd Lots episodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0OJbRzA6nWybYiThLJd_ouz Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway analyze the weird patterns, the complex issues and the newest market crazes. Join the conversation every Monday and Thursday for interviews with the most interesting minds in finance, economics and markets. Join the conversation: discord.gg/oddlots Subscribe to Bloomberg Podcasts: https://bit.ly/BloombergPodcasts Check out more Odd Lots: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0MuA6M0zkZyy-99-qc87wKV Get the Odd Lots newsletter: https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/oddlots And for all things Odd Lots, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/oddlots #Investing #Markets #Finance #Bloomberg #Podcast #OddLots Visit us: https://www.bloomberg.com/podcasts For coverage on news, markets and more: http://www.bloomberg.com/video Visit our other YouTube channels: Bloomberg Television: https://www.youtube.com/@markets Bloomberg Originals: https://www.youtube.com/bloomberg