Today we’d like to introduce you to Octavio Orozco.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Octavio. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Chilesquiles is a family business founded by my wife Romina Cervantes and myself, Octavio Orozco. One time we had the vision of setting up a business that could teach our kids the fundamentals of starting a project of their own and one day while my wife and I were shopping and chatting about this idea I remember asking her after a long talk about our plans for that weekend that if we could have Chilaquiles for breakfast next Sunday morning. That is when she said she wished there was a Chilaquiles sauce already made, available for purchase in stores. I realized there were no sauces already prepared and sold made just for Chilaquiles since it takes a long time to prepare right. I then searched on line for any type of sauce that was a truly authentic, Chilaquiles sauce. Not an Enchilada sauce, not a Taco salsa, a sauce for making Chilaquiles.
I found that no such sauce existed. I researched more and that’s when we decided to make a Chilaquiles cooking sauce of our own that we could put into the market. I looked into the demographics to determine and understand how to share this traditional Mexican/Tex-Mex dish. That is when I decided upon the name Chilesquiles because you can’t register the name of a dish. Once we had our first sauces ready we decided to test the waters and sell our cooking sauces at local farmers markets to see the response. It was such a happy success. From that point we took the next step in our production and decided to sell our Chilesquiles sauces in more events. We also took our business to the next level by trademarking the Chilesquiles name. Why?
Because Chilesquiles is the essential Chilaquiles sauce. Ever since we started, each jar is fresh made, labeled with a batch number and expiration date so our fans know they are getting the true flavors of a traditional Mexican family recipe so they can share and enjoy this authentic cuisine with their family and friends.
Ever since our success at the farmers markets we’ve been getting more involved in local curated events because we want it to become a Houston favorite. We’ve always viewed our sauces as an artisanal product that stands on its own with other big label products in stores. Our constant participation in these local pop-up events has helped us to build and establish our reputation with the artisanal and foodie communities and has helped us get even closer to our goal.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
We’ve had a few challenges. The hard work that goes into freshly preparing many batches of jars for our fans and continuing to meet the product quality expectations of our fan base as it has continued to grow over time without changing our recipe and keeping the same production methods instead of substituting flavors or ingredients just to mass produce our sauces in a much easier way. That is the essence of handcrafted products, they’ll always be of limited production.
One challenge also has been educating and reaching our fan base, especially customers who don’t usually cook. But we are finding solutions that will help them to use our sauces. A big support for that has been our recipe catalog that we have put together with some favorite Mexican and Texan meals that go beyond the traditional dish of Chilaquiles and offers a variety of ways they can use our Sauce at home.
Chilesquiles – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Chilesquiles specializes in handcrafted cooking sauces made using our family recipe. What sets us apart from our competition is the authenticity of the flavors and the artisanal methods of how our sauce is made.
The structure that we built our company upon: Romina is in charge of production and ensuring the quality of our sauces and I am involved in its marketing and growth of sales.
I believe our key to success has been based on three elements: a good product, a unique brand and customer response that leads to a repurchase.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
After a year of being in business, we have experienced more growth and response from the market than we could imagine. We were selected for and participated in the 2017 Quest for Texas Best with H-E-B and we made it into the top 25 out of 600+ participants. It was such a pleasant experience being alongside companies that have had such long and strong careers of their own. We were the young entrepreneurs of the competition.
Working at the farmers markets and special pop-up events have given us the opportunity to speak with the customers and hear their stories about how much they enjoy our products. Reading their comments on our social media channels and even looking at pictures of how they’re using our sauces, that has been the most rewarding success.
Pricing:
- Roasted Green: $7 – $10
- Traditional Red: $7 – $10
- Homemade Chipotle: $7 – $10
- Grill Brava: $7 – $10
Contact Info:
- Website: chilesquiles.com
- Phone: 3109933652
- Email: hello@chilesquiles.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chilesquiles/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chilesquiles/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Chilesquiles
Image Credit:
Chilesquiles Foods
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