Pink Sauce Resurrected After Controversy and Could Soon Be Sold in Stores

I’m sure by now you have probably heard of the internet-famous Chef Pii’s Pink Sauce that went viral on TikTok and then caused a whole bunch of drama. Well, it made headlines yet again this week since Chef Pii has partnered with Dave’s Gourmet (known for snazzy pasta sauce and hot sauce) to make an FDA-approved, shelf-stable, and, most importantly, non-exploding version of the famous fuchsia formulation.

Pink Sauce first made waves on TikTok for being an aioli the color of Pepto Bismol. Then TikToker Chef Pii bottled some of it up and started selling it online at $20 a bottle, which caused more waves when the sauce, which contained perishable ingredients (like milk), arrived spoiled or warm. One customer claimed on TikTok that the sauce had straight-up exploded (as Mythical Chef Josh would say, it “‘sploded”) in transit. You would think that would be enough waves for one sauce, but Pink Sauce would apparently disagree. Because it’s back, and maybe for good this time!

So, how exactly did Dave’s Gourmet help transform this problematic Pink Sauce into a shelf-stable and sellable product?

Well, it turns out that a lot of the issues with the original Pink Sauce rollout were related to Chef Pii’s lack of experience with commercial food production practices, which as Dave’s Gourmet put it, “led to significant obstacles.” But, Dave’s said, “It’s our pleasure to reach out to a talented foodie who has not had any experience with commercial production of sauces, and, with our expertise and resources, help bring her Pink Sauce™ to the market.” 

Wow, Dave’s, comin’ in clutch. They put their R&D team to work and in less than a week they had re-formulated the sauce to perfectly match the original’s violently pink color and unique flavor profile (“sweet ranch,” according to some tasters), and changed a few of the ingredients to make the sauce dairy-free, free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives—and, best of all, ‘splosion-free. 

Now that it is shelf stable and safe for human consumption, I kind of want to try this sauce, which is essentially a garlic, chili, dragon fruit aioli. Not only because it is violently pink and that calls to me (and most of the internet, apparently), but because I respect the hustle. This woman went through so much crap to get this sauce out on the market, received probably thousands of angry comments, emails, and DM’s, and now here she is, makin’ sauce with Dave, the sauce king himself.

While the company says that production is set to start this fall, I’m not sure what that means for a release date. You can sign up for updates on Chef Pii’s website, but don’t worry, I’ll keep you posted as soon as I see the next wave of Pink Sauce news rolling in. And you know there will be another wave.


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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