🍝 Sauz: A Pasta Brand Gen Z Could Actually Care About
For Sauz, I helped take a pantry staple and give it a personality. This wasn’t your grandma’s pasta sauce—literally. Built for Gen Z, Sauz leaned into a weird, irreverent voice and bold branding to stand out in an otherwise stale category. My job? Make sure that voice landed with the right people, in the right places.
🎯 The Challenge
Sauz was aiming for a cultural moment, not just shelf space. With a modern flavor lineup and a not-so-serious tone, the brand needed a go-to-market strategy that could connect with Gen Z college students, early professionals, and flavor-forward trend chasers. Pasta was the product—but brand was the hook.
đź› The Strategy
I partnered with the founding team to lock in their Ideal Customer Profile and translate it into a full GTM plan, focused on where Gen Z scrolls, shops, and shares. Deliverables included:
Brand Voice Guidelines: A punchy, absurdist tone that still felt smart and intentional. Think chaotic good meets Italian pantry.
Social Media Strategy: Platform-specific tactics with emphasis on TikTok and Instagram, tailored for trend-driven content and fast engagement.
Influencer Playbook: A roadmap for sourcing and activating influencers who could deliver content that felt native, not sponsored.
Customer Insights: Research-backed profiles that helped the team understand who they were talking to—and what that audience expected from a "fun" food brand.
🤝 My Role
I delivered foundational strategy materials including ICP, brand voice, and GTM direction. I collaborated closely with the founders to ensure Sauz didn’t just taste good—it sounded right too.
đź’ˇ Takeaway
You can’t fake relevance with Gen Z.
But if you build a brand that feels like it belongs in the group chat, they’ll listen—and they’ll share it.
