We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jose Gomez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jose thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you have any advice regarding quality control and maintaining quality as your brand grows?

Quality control is the most important part of SALSAS EL DON, it was a challenge going for a 6 cup home blender to a 30 gallon kettle, the process changed, the formula changed. Fortunately I have a great co packer, john Henry’s Foods products here in Houston Texas and we nailed it, we have a great relationship and even though they can produce each batch with their eyes closed, I check every batch produced before bottling, I check the texture, flavor and heat. I want everyone to taste the same flavor of their favorite salsas each time they try them.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started SALSAS EL DON as a fund raiser project for my oldest son Max, at the moment he told me he wanted to sell something to raise money for a trip that he had, that’s how it started. I made him around 20 bottles of CHILE DE ARBOL and never stopped since. This started in McAllen Texas, no name, no label, no brand, I would spend more money on gas than what I was making by selling them but I didn’t care, I was so happy to sell something that I had created. Then I started in a meat shop owned by some friends of mine, after that I even started shipping to customers that followed me on INSTAGRAM, I started charging like $13.00 for shipping, because I had no idea about how that worked. After a year I moved to Houston Tx because for a new job, once in Houston it’s when it got interesting. In a new city, with no friends, no kitchen, no supplies I had to stop for a couple of months and think if this was something real or not. I decided to go all in and found a source for my bottles, signed a contract for a licensed kitchen space by the hour, I filled my LLC, open my webpage and started doing farmers markets.
In April of 2019 I did my 1st farmers market and had no idea on what to expect, I was so happy that I was selling my salsas, I didn’t even care that it was a super slow day. After that, I didn’t stop, I would do markets every weekend, every Sunday at the Heights, I started doing Saturdays at other markets, sometimes double shifts on the same day. I was working 7 days a week, working my regular job, doing the shopping, doing the cooking/producing, labeling, selling on the weekends, and all of this during a hot summer in Houston. After a few weeks of doing this I get a message on my Facebook page, from a local forager from Whole Food Market, she told me that she had bought all 3 of my salsas at some Farmers Market and asked me if I was interested in working with them, I had to read that like 5 times because I couldn’t believe it. I started working on everything right away, got what I needed and started planning the launch of my products in 1 store in Nov 2019, The plan for the other 11 stores in the Houston area was for May 2020.
I started planning on switching to a co packer early 2020, then COVID hit us, so I invested all my money in to the co packing idea, the testing, initial purchase order, labels, lab tests, etc. It was go big or go home, and I don’t regret any part of it, that’s what has me here today.
As of today I sell in 25 stores though out Texas, I sell online, I still do farmers markets personally, I have my kids working with me, I’ve hired people to help me out during those markets, social media managers, etc. and to think that all started because of a fund raiser. I feel very proud that something that was created in my kitchen when I started is now manufactured in a factory and that my idea is in some persons kitchen, fridge or pantry.
The only thing that I truly believe and that I have taught m y kids is that to succeed in life you need discipline, confidence and consistency.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I do farmers markets every weekend, I do shows every chance that I have and take a lot of pride in my brand, I respond to each and every one of my social media messages and try to give the best customer service experience, even if it represents some extra money, like shipping, freebies, donations. I have great passion for what I do and I love sharing that with the world. I love when my customers return and give me so good reviews, feedback or refer me to other customers. People are really nice and very interested in learning about the story behind the brand, it creates a more familiar bond.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I started with $20.00 aprox, and never stopped since. When I started investing my own money was a couple of years after I started, when I landed the Whole Foods deal, I knew I had to grow, I knew that I needed to grow and get help, I had some money saved and I invested everything because I knew that it was worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.salsaseldon.com
• Instagram: @salsaseldon
• Facebook: Salsas El Don

Image Credits
1.- Personal photo 2.- Jose & Sofia Gomez. 3.- Max Ortiz & Sebastian Gomez 4.- Jose Gomez (Zest Fest show at Dallas Tx) 5.- Jose Gomez ( Farmers Market).