For years, Brandi Matthews would give her home-made salsa to friends and family, and overtime they would share with her how delicious her salsa was and encourage her to sell it.
Two years ago, she took the leap and started Brandi’s Salsa in January 2021. Her product can already be found in over 30 locations and she’s already grown from three flavours to seven.
The business owner received support from Community Futures Entre-Corp, with website design and the brand design of her three new flavours: The Ghost Pepper, The Grim Reaper, and Mango Salsa. She also received a loan through the Capital Growth Initiative for Women Entrepreneurs.
“I’m having fun growing my business. My goal has always been to grow and scale up. There’s so much to learn and so many hats to wear— it’s endless,” says Matthews. “The support I’ve received from Community Futures was very helpful, especially since I’m a sole business owner. And the loan was such an easy process.”
Matthews recently joined a course hosted by Community Futures and led by Drew A. Jackiw, partner at JMH&Co. Chartered Professional Accountants. She says it was informative and, being a local business owner, is appreciative of having access to the support Community Futures offers.
“The loan went towards launching a new product, the mango salsa. I came up with the recipe and it’s a real hit. It speaks for itself the way it’s selling,” says the business owner. “There’s always so many things you want to do, but there’s only so much money. I was happy to be able to release this new salsa to the community — people were asking for a mango salsa.”
Matthews cooks and mixes salsa in her commercial kitchen during the week, and then goes to tradeshows on the weekends to meet her customers. She is thankful that not only has the support been huge from the local communities, but the local business owners in Medicine Hat have been supportive and helpful in more ways than one.
Brandi’s Salsa can be found online at brandisalsa.ca as well as Facebook and Instagram.
