Viral Pink Sauce creator Chef Pii, also known as Veronica Shaw, has had a whirlwind of a year. After her homemade dragonfruit colored sauce gained popularity last summer, it stirred up a lot of controversy. However, things seemed to be looking up for Chef Pii when she partnered with a company to produce and sell the sauce in stores like Walmart. Sadly, Chef Pii now reveals that she is facing eviction and struggling to provide for her children’s basic needs such as food and school supplies.
Chef Pii, who hasn’t posted a TikTok video since August 8, now has a link up in her linktr.ee to a GoFundMe asking for help from her audience to provide her basic needs, and then some. The GoFundMe is asking for $100,000.
She also alleges that she has been “financially sabotaged” by the company she was working with. Chef Pii did not name the company, but in January 2023, it was announced that she had partnered with Dave’s Gourmet. Soon afterwards, the infamous pink sauce started appearing on Walmart shelfs. Shortly, though, they were being marked down.
One thing that many shoppers noticed was that the color of the sauce was far less pink than the many different shade Chef Pii would feature on her social media accounts. One reason for the varying colors was the fact that every batch she made was different.
For a time before she started working with Dave’s Gourmet, Chef Pii was bottling and shipping out the Pink sauce by herself. Customers immediately started reporting issues with the sauce, which was selling for $20 a bottle, and there were concerns about whether or not the sauce was being made according to FDA guidelines. Working with an established bottling company was an attempt to ensure customer safety and streamline the processs, and reduce costs to the consumer.
However, it’s questionable if there is a real market for pink sauce beyond the initial appeal of the shocking pink shades drizzled on everything from pasta to fried chicken.
Now, Chef Pii is claiming that she isn’t being paid, and isn’t being reimbursed for the money she spent marketing the sauce online.
“Hi, my name is Veronica Shaw, I am the founder of The Pink Sauce LLC, one of the most viral sauce sensations of 2022. As a young entrepreneur with big dreams, I followed my intuition and went forth toward my dreams to create something new. I made a few mistakes on the way,” Chef Pii writes on her GoFundMe Page.
“Which lead me to trust a company that is trying to take everything away from me. They lied to me. They are not paying me and are not being transparent about records. I have tried on multiple occasions to try and come to one accord with them but they refuse to reimburse me for marketing expenses that I spent my own funds towards.”
“I have been silienced and financially sabotaged. I am a single mom and I do everything for my kids. Right now I don’t even have enough money to buy my kids food on my own.”
“My mom is on disability and has been giving us $20 just to get by on a daily basis. School is a few days away I haven’t been able to get my kids clothes or anything. I am currently facing an eviction that has gone into default the sheriffs can come to my door any day now. I need legal help. They are refusing to pay me the royalty that is owed to me. I don’t know what else to do. I can’t give up. I need help.”
