What started with salsa is now a success

RATHDRUM – The editors of Country Living magazine believe the secret ingredient in Taco Chic Salsa just might be the Taco Chic herself. They recently picked Juanita Carmack, Rathdrum’s own Taco Chic, as one of the top 2008 women entrepreneurs in the nation.

Country Living magazine chose to recognize Carmack, and her salsa factory in North Idaho, believing she stands as proof that “a woman with little experience, can find a way to turn her passion into a profitable business.” Looking for “companies with heart,” they recognized her as a woman whose determination to succeed can serve as inspiration to women everywhere.

A tiny, fast-talking ball of fire, Carmack reminds one of TV’s irrepressible Rachael Ray, queen of “30 Minute Meals,” and now the host of her own talk show. Similarities between the two don’t end there. Both come from humble beginnings in families where cooking was important, neither had formal training, and both have the fire inside to succeed.

Carmack’s story is the classic successful-entrepreneur story. She picked something she was passionate about, then worked tirelessly to develop, manufacture, sell, and promote her product – with her husband’s support, she is quick to add. John helps manufacture, sell, and deliver, when not working at his “real” job. He also gives excellent advice, says Carmack, “We make a good team.”

Carmack is passionate about her salsa, her heritage and her belief in herself. In a time when “sameness” has taken over the marketplace, she has produced a quality salsa with provenance, a brand with pizzazz, and a store full of charm and sophistication.

Her passion for her great-grandmother’s 100-year-old salsa recipe led her to dream of starting a salsa business. The former stay-at-home mom, with little business experience, spent one year learning about licensing, taxes, product development, manufacturing, and retail sales.

She perfected her recipe, then tested her product at local bike nights she and husband John attended. Selling $1 tacos, with lots of salsa, was a hit and motorcycle riders were soon asking for her, “Where’s that taco chick?”

The name stuck, and the demand for “Taco Chic Salsa” took off. Within a few months she outgrew the commercial kitchen space she was renting, and began looking for her own building. Her vision of a 100-year-old building to complement her heritage salsa recipe led her to Rathdrum, where she purchased and renovated an 1890 building into a state-of-the-art kitchen and retail sales space. The Taco Chic Salsa Factory opened on Rathdrum’s Main Street in spring of 2005.

With the ability to produce more salsa, Carmack continued her marketing blitz, finding dozens of stores in Washington and North Idaho to carry her salsa. Then she went to work developing additional products. She soon found another big hit with her tamales, again using a family recipe.

Introduced late in 2005, the popularity of her tamales continues to amaze even Carmack. “We sell out week after week, no matter how many we make,” she said. This summer, she sold as many as 1,000 tamales in one day at the Kootenai Farmer’s Market.

Tamales aren’t the only thing selling well at the Taco Chic Salsa Factory. Business is booming. Requests for salsa are coming from as far away as South Carolina and Texas. A letter expressing interest from a food distributor in Canada, who supplies restaurant chains, hotels, hospitals and super markets, was on her desk when the call came from the magazine. “We were contacted by the largest food distributor in Canada, two weeks ago. They want our salsa,” said Carmack, excitedly. “We’re working on it.”

The Carmacks enjoy telling stories of how much people enjoy their products. There’s a man interested in writing about them for a Hispanic newspaper; a woman from France who has introduced her to a supportive network of successful businesswomen; and people from around the world have taken time to sign their guest register.

Carmack is amazed that unexpected large orders from businesses have begun to come in. “We don’t cater, but businesses are buying our tamales and salsa for their big events,” said Carmack, who is finding the additional growth is already beginning to challenge their production capabilities. She finds the success, and the resulting talk of expansion, unbelievable. “It feels like I’m watching a movie of somebody else. It doesn’t really feel like it’s happening to me, sometimes.”

Maybe she will realize it’s all true when she has to take time out of her busy schedule in March, to attend a Women Entrepreneur event in Chicago where she, and seven other women, will be introduced as the winners of Country Living magazine’s 2008 Women Entrepreneur contest. She will be an honored guest at the event, and her business will be highlighted in a future edition and on the Country Living Web site.