The Pink Sauce creator says she's broke after being 'financially sabotaged' by business partner Dave's Gourmet. The company says it's paid the viral chef $120,000.

• Veronica Shaw partnered with Dave's Gourmet in January to bring her viral Pink Sauce to Walmart.
• Last week, she launched a $100,000 GoFundMe campaign, saying she'd been "financially sabotaged."

Roughly eight months after arriving at Walmart, the ill-fated, TikTok-born Pink Sauce is once again embroiled in controversy.

The condiment — a melange of dragon fruit, coconut cream, onion powder, and ranch flavoring — was initially invented by Miami-based Veronica Shaw, who goes by Chef Pii on social media. It quickly became the subject of both viral fascination and safety concerns when it launched in 2022, with customers reporting error-ridden nutritional labels and bottles arriving broken.

This January, in what appeared to be a second coming of the product, Shaw partnered with supplier and distributor Dave's Gourmet, a hot sauce and pasta sauce company, to create a shelf-stable iteration of the sauce manufactured under FDA guidelines. The product launched on Walmart shelves nationwide for $8 a bottle.

While its total sales are unknown, TikTokers in January noticed that the item quickly went on clearance by the end of the month. Currently on Walmart's website, however, the sauce is being sold at the retail price. Shaw told TikTok viewers in a video posted earlier this month that she's sold 200,000 units.

Last week, Shaw shared a considerably different tone online. She unveiled a GoFundMe campaign in a bid to raise $100,000 for herself, saying she has been "silienced [sic] and financially sabotaged." While she didn't name Dave's Gourmet, she said she trusted a company "that is trying to take everything away" from her.

"They lied to me," she wrote in the GoFundMe description, which has raised just $921 to date. "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….They are refusing to pay me the royalty that is owed to me."

Shaw, who did not respond to Insider's request for comment, said on GoFundMe that she is a single mother and doesn't have enough money to buy food for her children or to get them clothes for school, saying she was living off of $20 a day. She also said she's facing eviction from her apartment.

When reached, Dave's Gourmet told Insider it disagreed with Shaw's version of the events.

"We disagree with Ms. Shaw's allegations," a company spokesperson said. "Dave's Gourmet has paid Chef Pii over $120,000 to date and it continues to make all payments as due and on time based upon the terms of the contract."

Insider reviewed screenshots of bank statements shared by Dave's Gourmet reflecting payments it says it made to Shaw as well as a company called Flavor Crazy Inc., which is registered in her name. There were 12 total transactions in the screenshots totaling $120,000.

The payments began in August 9, 2022, according to the documents provided by Dave's, and the latest transaction occurred on August 17 of this year.

Dave's added in its statement that it has "adhered to the terms of the agreement with Ms. Shaw," and is attempting to work with her to mediate the dispute.

"We've offered to reimburse Ms. Shaw for her lawyer's time to go over the terms of the agreement and how it relates to the payments that were made to Ms. Shaw," the statement continued. "She indicated that she's open to an amicable resolution of the dispute and the parties are in discussions."