In a business world often driven by transactions, Sarah Austin has built her career around something more enduring: trust, relationships, and creating meaningful value.
Founder & CEO of The Scratch Pantry, Sarah brings an uncommon blend of entrepreneurial experience, business leadership, and deep human connection to the foodservice industry.
Before launching The Scratch Pantry, Sarah’s career spanned commercial real estate, finance, business development, and entrepreneurship. She co-founded a successful mortgage company, built and scaled a prior food business, and served as a National Sales Director for a global financial services firm, consistently driving growth, cultivating strategic partnerships, and building high-trust networks across industries.
Known as a natural connector, Sarah has long created spaces where thoughtful professionals build meaningful relationships, exchange ideas, and create opportunity. She hosts curated executive communities spanning finance, real estate, founders, and women’s leadership, rooted in her belief that relationships built with care and trust often become the foundation for innovation, business growth, and lasting impact.
That same philosophy shaped her next chapter.
Driven by a passion for exceptional ingredients, health-conscious food, and culinary quality, Sarah founded The Scratch Pantry, a Chicago-based premium foodservice brand focused on clean-label Chicken Italian Sausage and Chicken Chorizo designed specifically for professional kitchens.
The company was born from a simple but important observation: chefs deserve better options.
In a market crowded with heavily processed proteins, The Scratch Pantry was created to deliver what many chefs struggle to find in a single product, bold flavor, premium ingredients, operational versatility, and a clean label without compromise.
Crafted with premium chicken, proprietary seasoning blends, and fresh-ground organic-sourced herbs and spices processed in the United States, The Scratch Pantry products are free from preservatives, MSG, gluten, pork, dairy, and fillers. The result is a bright, robust, chef-driven flavor profile built for modern menus and evolving consumer preferences.
Today, The Scratch Pantry products are gaining traction across private clubs, hospitality groups, and foodservice operators throughout the Chicago market.
But for Sarah, this venture represents more than product innovation.
It reflects her broader commitment to building businesses with intention, businesses that bring people together, solve real operational challenges, and raise the standard for what quality can look like in foodservice.
Looking ahead, The Scratch Pantry continues to expand its vision through new product development, including fully cooked formats, additional protein applications, and exploration of halal and kosher offerings to meet the evolving needs of chefs and operators.
Across every chapter of her career, Sarah Austin has remained focused on a consistent mission: building with purpose, leading through relationships, and creating products, communities, and opportunities that make a meaningful difference.
