Carbone Fine Food debuted in 2021 as a consumer goods brand to tap into demand already simmering from the success of its namesake, the Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Carbone.
When it launched, Carbone Fine Food immediately had an ecommerce strategy, selling its sauces on Amazon, as well as on CarboneFineFood.com, for shoppers who wanted to order online. In 2025, the brand has had time to evolve, as well as to learn from customer behavior and online order histories about which choices can best drive conversion.
Emily Fleming, the senior marketing manager of shopper and digital commerce at Carbone Fine Food, shared a few details with Digital Commerce 360 about what that journey has been like. Fleming, along with Peter Larsen, the vice president of Amazon Multichannel Commerce & Fulfillment, spoke to what makes Carbone Fine Food’s situation unique, as well as what led it to add the Buy with Prime option on the brand’s ecommerce website.
In Larsen’s words, that integration is designed to “combine the scale and convenience of Amazon with the control and brand equity of a DTC [direct-to-consumer] storefront.” In the meantime, using Buy with Prime also gives shoppers with Prime accounts access to fulfillment and other options, including “fast, free delivery, easy returns and 24/7 support.”
Amazon ranks No. 1 in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 2000 Database. The database is how Digital Commerce 360 tracks the largest North American online retailers by their annual ecommerce sales.
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Editor’s note: This interview with Emily Fleming was conducted via email. It has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Interview
Digital Commerce 360: As Carbone Fine Food enters its fifth year of ecommerce, which decisions have had the biggest impact on sales?
Emily Fleming: We’ve learned to adapt quickly and focus on what works best for both the e-commerce customer and the broader market environment. However, what works today may not necessarily work six months from now. That’s why we continuously optimize our assortment and remain committed to doing so, recognizing that the landscape is always evolving.
DC360: Which SKUs are your top sellers? And do those answers vary at all between physical stores and online?
EF: Our pureplay offerings look quite different compared to our portfolio at omnichannel retailers. To help drive a profitable pureplay business, we currently only offer multipack items and gifts sets while our retail partners sell our single item jars at shelf. Across our ecommerce business, we lean into variety flavor packs and flavors that aren’t necessarily available at a vast array of retailers. As a brand, we find it important to offer our customers something different on .com, with some of those learnings stemming from our traditional retail business.
DC360: You bundle your sauce in packs of two and four. Has that — or any other choices — made a difference in the fulfillment options you’re able to offer?
EF: That’s correct! Because our items are on the heavier side, with large glass jars, our fulfillment choices must be strategic not just for the customer experience, but also as a smart margin play.
DC360: Can you tell us why you chose to sell on Amazon? Where else do you make Carbone available?
We love the reach and the ease of the shopper journey on Amazon, so it only made sense for us to roll out Buy with Prime on our DTC site so that Prime members had more places to shop. We also know Amazon often serves as a first stop for shoppers looking to learn more about a brand and its ingredient story. So not only are we keen on a well-balanced assortment offering, it’s also important that we show up with strong brand communication, RTBs, and our company background in a trusted, organized, and shoppable format.
DC360: How would you characterize the role Buy with Prime has played for your online sales and conversion at checkout?
EF: It’s clear how much the Buy with Prime button means to shoppers across our website. We know Prime members value getting the shopping benefits they already know and love — including fast, free delivery, 24/7 shopper support, and a convenient checkout experience — on CarboneFineFood.com.
While we know our loyalists can rely on our DTC shipments, we also know Buy with Prime helps drive conversion for consumers who may not necessarily be familiar with our brand just yet.
DC360: When it comes to customer loyalty, do you see a relationship between activity in the restaurants and your ecommerce activity?
EF: While Carbone Fine Food and the Carbone restaurant operate separately, it is our connection to the restaurant, Chef Mario Carbone, and our mutual promise of ingredient quality that make our products stand out amongst competitors. Success for the restaurant, including new openings or national headlines regarding expansion, often piques consumer interest in Carbone as an entity and drives increased search and interest in Carbone Fine Food.
Additionally, our mission is restaurant quality in the comforts of a home kitchen, so our goal is to ensure whether a consumer is in a restaurant market or not, they have access to some of the finest sauce on the same iconic dishes found in the restaurant.
DC360: Is there anything else you are trying out in 2025? Are you experimenting with any other offers or implementing any new approaches as you look ahead to the rest of the year and holiday preparations?
EF: With our recent launch of new flavors — Sweet Pepper & Onion, Mediterranean Marinara, Black Truffle Alfredo, Mac & Cheese Alfredo — we look forward to bringing a variety of new items to shoppers via Buy with Prime and Amazon.com.
Our integrated business learnings across the flavors will drive the e-commerce assortment decisions in Q4. This decision-making cadence helps us better forecast and go to market across the pureplay landscape. Aside from new product offerings, we’re looking to launch our holiday sets earlier compared to the ’24 season to play into early holiday shopping behavior and new entertaining occasions.
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