Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Cohen.
Alex, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
It might have been destiny for me to start a sauce company because I’ve always been obsessed with sauce, but I never actually thought I’d have one. My story really started in two timelines: thirty years ago and three years ago.
Let’s start with three years ago. My career has never been in food. Right out of college I went into distressed real estate acquisitions for more than a decade, then transitioned into futures trading. But three years ago, everything shifted. I found myself again questioning why no one had created a better-tasting red sauce, something not overly acidic to your taste buds or chemical to the nose. That curiosity turned into an obsession.
And that’s where we jump back thirty years. From five years old up to eighteen I was a seriously avid ice hockey player, and like every kid in that world, carb loading before games was a ritual. My mom hated the jarred sauces on the shelves, so she made her own. Once she mastered it I was hooked, comparing every sauce I tried to hers and using it on everything, including eating it straight off a spoon like ice cream.
That childhood imprint met my adult obsession and the lightbulb finally clicked. Maybe this could be a business. For Good Sauce is the product of those two timelines colliding. You can still taste the hallmark characteristics of my mom’s original sauce, but I’ve evolved it into something much more than a pasta sauce.
For Good Sauce is a clean label, slow cooked, tomato forward umami bomb you can use as a dip, a cooking ingredient, a sandwich spread, or yes, an unreal pasta sauce.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I had to laugh when I read this question. The answer is a very clear “no, it has not been a smooth road.” I will keep it brief, because if I listed every struggle this would turn into a TED talk.
One of the biggest challenges is the price a journey like this demands. It asks you to give a piece of your soul just to bring the idea to life. It does not feel like work. It feels like something personal being pulled out of you and turned into a product. And with that comes a wild emotional volatility. The highs and lows, the moments where you question yourself, the “why on earth did I start this” thoughts, the occasional realization that you might be a little crazy for trying to build this. It takes a toll.
On top of that, you are handling every single issue that pops up across every department of the business. Some areas you know well, others you are learning on the spot, and a few you do not even realize exist until something breaks. It is exhausting, and some days it feels impossible, but that is the truth of starting from zero.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about For Good Sauce?
For Good Sauce is a clean label, slow cooked, tomato based umami bomb that people use in pretty much every way you can imagine. Some treat it like a dip, some cook entire meals with it, some spread it on sandwiches and of course it makes an unreal pasta sauce. What we are known for is that versatility. It is a secret weapon for your kitchen that works for breakfast dishes like shakshuka. It stands in for ketchup or salsa on quesadillas, grilled cheese, tacos and anything that needs a lift. It can replace any tomato based ingredient in recipes from Spanish to Mexican to French to Moroccan and even West African inspired dishes.
What sets us apart is that we do not think of this as a pasta sauce brand. It is a cooking base, a flavor booster and a dip all in one. When people buy a jar they end up using it in completely unexpected ways and that is where the magic happens.
Brand wise, I am most proud of the way the community has shaped For Good Sauce. It grew by word of mouth and by people discovering their own uses for it. Nothing here is manufactured. It is real cooks, real homes, real curiosity.
What I want readers to know is simple. This is a clean, slow cooked, tomato forward sauce made with intention and it can genuinely make your day to day cooking easier and better. Whether you are making breakfast, building a sandwich, throwing together a quick dinner or improvising a dish from whatever is in your fridge, For Good Sauce gives you a starting point that tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen even if you did not. Come find us on Instagram at @forgoodsauce or stop by the Coconut Grove Farmers Market on Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm and see why people end up coming back for more.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
My advice is to forget the traditional idea of networking altogether. The people who have helped me the most came from normal conversations and from being honest about what I do and do not know. When you show genuine curiosity and PASSION and ask real questions, the right people usually step in. They can sense when you have poured yourself into your undertaking.
I also do not think you need one official mentor. I have a few people I go to for different things and it works better that way. You end up building your own informal board of advisors over time.
So my advice is simple. Be curious, be humble, ask real questions and be willing to show that you are still figuring things out. The right people respond to that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.forgoodsauce.com
- Instagram: @forgoodsauce
