TikTok-Famous Pink Sauce Went from Viral Hit to Hot Mess

Pink sauce: It squirts like mayo, reflects light like a Barbie Dream House (that ‘ish is pink as hell), and everyone’s talking about it. “What is pink sauce?” You may be wondering. “Are you talking about Gigi Hadid’s famous spicy pink pasta sauce?” No, I most certainly am not. This pink sauce was invented on TikTok (and very clearly for TikTok) by @chef.pii and has very little to do with Italy or any food you’ve probably encountered in your life. 

https://www.tiktok.com/@chef.pii/video/7113386325197212971?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

This violently rosy concoction is made of dragon fruit, sunflower seed oil, honey, chile peppers, and garlic. At least now we have an explanation for the pink (some varieties of Dragon Fruit are bright pink on the inside). So essentially, it’s like a dragon fruity, garlicky, Spanish aioli? Like American mayo but with garlic and without eggs? Sounds interesting for sure. And people online agree. After the sauce went viral, many thought it sounded utterly unappetizing, while others were weirdly drawn to it and wanted to try it. So naturally, @cheff.pii started bottling and selling it—for $20 a bottle.

There have been some issues with this plan, however. @chef.pii was selling the bottles from her house. This is legal in some states if the product is shelf-stable, which, it turns out, pink sauce is not. People have apparently been complaining not only that the product isn’t shelf stable (and mentions nothing about refrigeration on the packaging), but also that a lot of the info on the nutrition label is wrong. Mashed reports that the bottle claimed to contain “444 14.4-gram servings per container” which would add up to about 14 pounds of sauce—an unlikely amount to fit in a vessel the size of a mayo bottle. According to the ingredients listed on the bottle, the product contains milk, which, without proper preservatives and/or storing methods, will go bad, quickly. And the bottles don’t seem to sport an expiration date. 

So what’s going to happen to @chef.pii’s burgeoning pink sauce business? She has said that she’s working on solving these issues so that she can get the business back up and running, and people’s reactions to that have been mixed. One TikToker, @Sseaansvv, weighed in to say that he’s “genuinely rooting for her to obtain a license, fix the labels, correct any errors and then sell out—legally.” But other TikTokers have been less forgiving, commenting that “apologizing for a mistake after [she] sold so many” isn’t ideal. What are your thoughts? Are you going to go buy some of this once all the kinks have been worked out? Are you feelin’ pink da ba dee da ba di?


About the Author

Jessica Block

Jessica Block is a freelance contributor to Sporked, a comedian, a baker, a food writer, and a firm believer that Trader Joe's may just be the happiest place on earth. She loves spicy snacks, Oreos, baking bread, teeny tiny avocados, and trying new foods whenever she can. Also, if you give her a bag of Takis she will be your best friend.

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