We Love to Get On The Sauce — A Word From Our Co-Founder
Hi — it’s Berrin here, one of the co-founders of Get On The Sauce®. Not everyone knows me by name, so: hello, and welcome to a proper saucy update — the first of what’ll become a regular thing.
I want to tell you where this little family sauce business has been, why we went quiet for a while, and what’s changed. Consider this the honest version.
The journey so far
2017 — Mekla and I took the business over from the Baxter family as they headed home to the USA. We loved the product, so we took on the challenge.
2020 — We went nationwide with Countdown / Woolworths, scaling production from 50kg to 1,200kg batches almost overnight. Invaluable lessons, learned the hard way.
2022 — After the curveballs of upscaling (and a few more from Covid), we deliberately scaled back to regroup and refocus on quality.
2023 — A retail-sales expert joined us as an investor to help grow the brand.
2024 — We rebranded from Baxter’s Original to Get On The Sauce — now a registered trademark in New Zealand, Australia and the USA. (Still amazed no one had claimed that name for a sauce business. Clearly meant to be.)
2026 — To keep the sauce flowing, we’re scaling manufacturing again — growing batches steadily from 50kg to 150kg to protect the quality you expect. And the 1kg pouch is finally here, opening the door to new markets, including export.
Why we went quiet — and what’s changed
The last five or six years have been a proper rollercoaster, the kind small businesses know all too well. Here’s the bit I don’t usually say out loud: I run this alongside a full-on career and raising two teenage boys with my partner Mekla. The day-to-day happens in the early mornings, lunch breaks, evenings and weekends, all squeezed around everything else life throws at us. There was only ever time to keep things ticking over — never to get ahead. Until now.
What changed? AI has landed in my world, and it’s been an absolute game-changer. It’s helping me finally get on top of the sales and marketing, and move things forward instead of treading water. To be clear — this is me, Berrin, writing to you. Keeping the human element is non-negotiable; business, like life, is all about people. AI just helps me package it up, push the buttons and grow the brand, so I can focus on the part that matters: you.
And I’m not doing it alone. My partner Mekla is the engine room of the whole thing — she’s kept the sauce flowing throughout and processes every single order, all from the room we’ve turned into an HQ in our home here in Wellington. We’re a proper family business in every sense — run around the kitchen table, the boys and everything else life throws at us included. There’s a bit of our home in every bottle.
A few honest updates
We’ve teamed up with a contract manufacturer so we can make the sauce at scale — without ever dropping the quality. Non-negotiable.
Making it at scale means making it for less — and as batches grow, we’ll pass those savings on and get the sauce into more hands.
Fallen off the shelf at your local supermarket? We’re onto it, and working hard to get back on.
The 1kg pouch is finally here — for the big cooks and the serious feeds.
One small favour
If we’ve earned it, a quick Google review goes a long way for a small business like ours — it’s one of the best ways to help us grow. Leave us a review.
And the honest ask: every time you Get On The Sauce, think of it as a vote — to keep all of us on the good stuff, good and proper.
Keep it saucy,
Berrin — co-founder, Get On The Sauce