"Originally a premium, natural DTC sauce that found success in specialty supermarkets, this Japanese barbecue line expanded into the full national grocery chain after a May 2023 rollout, leveraging higher production volumes to make the product more affordable (retail price fell from about $12.99 on the brand site to roughly $7.98 in stores). Company leaders initially worried that placement in a mass retailer might undercut the brand’s premium positioning, but store visits and operational familiarity reduced those concerns and made nationwide expansion feasible." - Amy McCarthy