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Karen Akouri

drench

Founder and CEO

Karen Akouri is the Founder and CEO of drench – a line of truly clean dressings, marinades and sauces. With a background as a CPA and Certified Internal Auditor, Karen’s career path took a transformative turn after becoming a mother of three and realizing the health risks hidden in conventional salad dressings. Shocked to discover the toxic additives in dressings such as sodium benzoate, a petroleum-based preservative and titanium dioxide – a chemical also used as a whitening agent in industrial paint – Karen began crafting her own clean-label alternatives. In 2019, she officially launched drench, driven by a mission to bring transparency and health back to the grocery aisle. Shortly after founding the company, Karen faced a life-altering challenge: a breast cancer diagnosis. During her 18-month battle, clean eating became more essential than ever. Her recovery only deepened her commitment to health and inspired her to grow drench into a national brand. Today, drench is one of the top 10 fastest-growing natural salad dressing in the country (SPINS data 8/26), available in over 4,000 stores nationwide. Karen continues to lead with purpose, passion and an uncompromising belief that our food should nourish and heal.