Mexican Entrepreneur Takes Spicy and Hot to Walmart
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Mexican Entrepreneur Takes Spicy and Hot to Walmart

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José Escobedo By José Escobedo | Senior Editorial Manager - Tue, 04/28/2020 - 18:21

A new hot and spicy salsa is about to be introduced to Walmart this month. La Perrona, a traditional salsa that mixes chiltepín, habanero peppers and 26 spices from all over the world is coming to a store near you.

Luis Naranja is the young entrepreneur who decided to market the salsa back in 2014. Nevertheless, the secret recipe was born 60 years ago and belonged to the Naranjo family of Tijuana. The family owned a small convenience store and for decades sold the salsa, enchanting the palate of thousands of customers who loved the great spicy natural flavors. Now, their product will stock shelves across the country.

Entrepreneurs like Luis, who have a new product and would like to become Walmart, Bodega Aurrera, Sam’s Club or Superama suppliers in Mexico, must take into consideration the following points. All items must have a barcode registered with GS1 Mexico, as well as the verification of the printing of the barcodes. Products must also comply with Official Mexican Norms (NOM) that are applicable to the type of merchandise. The product must have adequate packaging to be sold in convenience stores, with all the necessary specifications, and the company selling them must be registered in SHCP and be able to issue invoices.

Having passed all of these requirements, Walmart extended its permits to La Perrona and customers can find the product in four presentations: Chiltepín (ideal for snacks), Habanero (for carne asada), Green Habanero (for hamburgers) and Black (for seafood). The salsa was sold at over 4,500 points of sale and distributed in all supermarkets in Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Colima, Sinaloa and Sonora. This month, however, La Perrona will be sold in all Walmart stores across Mexico.

The story began when Luis was 14 and began working at his parents’ restaurant called Wicho’s mariscos, tacos & cheves, a Baja style restaurant. “My dad taught me to always believe in our dreams and do everything to make them true,” says Luis. The dream of this young entrepreneur was to sell his own product at supermarkets. “Today, thanks to our great team and my family’s support, we have achieved this.” After working at his family restaurant, the young entrepreneur became a restaurant manager and opened two more restaurants and a food truck.

Thanks to Luis’ business-oriented vision, he began to introduce his salsa among customers. Luis attributes La Perrona’s success to its artisanal process. The salsa is made at home and has the perfect balance mix of thickness, flavor and spiciness. “La Perrona is like Tijuana: a mixture of culture and diversity. The salsa combines ingredients from all parts from Mexico, chiltepín, from Sonora, the habanero, from Yucatan and spices from all over the world," he says.

La Perrona has all the necessary food safety permits and legal paperwork to operate and market. Luis says he keeps the recipe locked in his very own "secret recipe" room. He appreciates product standardization processes and says he has a good command for production processes. According to him, the best strategy to promote his salsa is by using social media. Last year Luis became the winner of the Premio Entrepreneur México 2019: Premio del Público powered by Facebook. The future looks promising for Luis, as well. By 2021, he would like to consolidate a marketing and sales channel for southern California in the US. Fort the next five years Luis wants to introduce La Perrona in Asia and Europe.

Shark Tank Mexico

Two years ago, Luis participated in the acclaimed TV show Shar Tank Mexico. “Before attending the show, I made sure I had all info on the sharks and their business strategies. Rodrigo Herrera, Arturo Elías Ayub and Carlos Bremer wanted to invest in my salsa. Nevertheless, I rejected their proposal because they wanted 49 percent of my company,” says Luis.

 

 

 

 

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