Miguel and Veronica Garza grew up in Laredo, Texas, in the kind of family that did almost everything together. So when Veronica realized that a grain-free diet was helping her cope with debilitating health issues, the rest of the family—all six of them—adopted the same paleo-friendly diet. Soon Veronica was making her own almond flour tortillas at home and selling them at a CrossFit gym that the Garza family had launched in Laredo. The grain-free tortillas were a hit, and by 2016, Siete Family Foods products were being sold in Whole Foods Markets across the country. Today, Veronica and Miguel head the company with the help of the whole family, and Siete has become one of the fastest-growing Mexican-American food brands in the U.S.

Show Notes:

2:26 - Intro
5:24 - Life in Laredo
7:40 - Growing up with food
8:55 - Veronica’s health struggles
11:14 - Veronica’s post-grad
12:43 - The beginning of the Crossfit diet
17:52 - Opening a Crossfit gym
25:11 - Perfecting a grain-free tortilla
34:10 - Starting to sell the tortillas
39:04 - Maybe this is a business
47:55 - Making a lot of tortillas
52:45 - Getting local help
57:40 - Getting a foot in the door
59:29 - Becoming Siete Foods
61:10 - Pitching to investors
63:19 - Moldy tortillas
66:10 - Finding a manufacturer
71:09 - Tortilla chips
72:39 - Building out a portfolio
77:00 - Handling stress
78:28 - Luck vs. hard work

Selected Links:

Crossfit
Paleo Diet
Laredo, Texas
Miguel and Veronica Garza
ITP
Lupus
‍Hashimoto’s
Grain-free tortillas
John Mackey
Whole Foods
SKU Accelerator
Siete Tortilla Chips
Stripes Group
Siete Foods