Bill's Blog

You never know where inspiration for a blog topic is going to come from. Listening to Newsradio 88 out of NYC last week, there was a report that actor Paul Sorvino is bringing out a line of pasta sauces - both marinara and vodka. It makes great marketing sense. Sorvino starred in "Goodfellas". He's likable and has a strong Italian heritage. According to industry sources, the sauce is decent and has made initial shelf penetration in the Northeast. It's an accomplishment, considering that breaking into the pasta sauce aisle is tougher than the families who inspired the love of Italian food in this country. Barilla owns the pasta aisle, but is a secondary player in pasta sauces.

I got to thinking about all the celebrity sauces that are on the market from both actors and chefs. The leader is the venerable Paul Newman with his line of Newman's Own pasta sauces that have contributed $280 million to charities since 1982. Francis Coppola, more noted for wine, has a line of pasta sauces - Mammarella (Little Mama), named after his mother, Italia Pennino Coppola. Even Danny Devito sells San Marzano pasta sauce out of his Devito South Beach restaurant.

Noted UCONN women's basketball coach, Geno Auriemma, is in the game with sauce inspired by his mother. It's hard to believe that Rick Pitino doesn't have one, or Al Pacino, or Robert Deniro for that matter. No Soprano's line of sauces either.

Restaurateurs have entries in the category as well. Frank Pellegrino is the owner and impresario of Rao's, the 'impossible to get a reservation to' restaurant. You have to be a made man or be well connected to someone to gain a coveted table in Rao's. But you can simulate the experience at home with the Rao's sauce and cookbook. Here in Hartford, Frank's, a great Italian restaurant that's long been gone to restaurant heaven, has been reincarnated through their special pasta sauce.

It seems as though to be a star on the Food Network, you need to have your own sauce. Emeril Lagasse checks in with Emeril's pasta sauce in various iterations. Italian favorite, Lidia Bastianich, serves up Lidia's Italian Table and just this month Giada DeLaurentiis is introducing a line of cookware, cutlery and sauces for Target.

Why all the players? Market estimates for overall pasta sauce sales range from $1.6 to $1.8 billion in the 07-08 timeframe. What was once thought of as a mature market in the mid-decade struggling with the effects of the low-carb diet is now definitely on the rise. Four out of five households report using sauce and the percentage is on the rise. The recession is a friend, not a foe.

The category is not for the faint of heart. Prego, Campbell's offering, dominates along with Ragu. Their sauces feature every possible ingredient extension from mini-meatballs to mushrooms and garlic. Their facings run in the hundreds as compared to a three facing for Emeril's pasta sauce or a five facing for Rao's sauce. If you're going to be a niche player, be one that stands out. Believe it or not, Hulk Hogan used to have a restaurant called Pastamania featuring his own sauce! You can't trade on celebrity alone. You'll get shelf space, but sustaining it is the tougher task. The sauce better be as good as homemade.