Meet Kristen Pena

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Pena.

Hi Kristen, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We started this business to pass it down to our kids one day. Our business is named after our firstborn son, Hunter Ray. We chose salsa because one day, my husband and now business partner Dimitri tried salsa. I made him one day, and he told me I should sell my salsa. I took that, and we ran with it! We started with just two flavors: OG Heat and Desert Heat. We now have four different salsas, two sauces, two salad dressings, and so much more. We are Woman Veteran Owned. I (Kristen) served in the United States Navy as a hospital man. I served overseas at the Naval Hospital in Guam. I took on many different roles while in the service, which helped me gain the skills to own and run my own business. After finishing my contract, I returned home, and that’s when I started dating my now husband. We are also Minority Owned. My husband(Dimitri) learned how to run a business from his parents, who run a successful Landscaping Business. He is always at the markets and handles many of the fulfillment side of things. He also is constantly working on bringing you guys new and exciting products to add to our menu. Together, we are your local salsa dealers.

It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
We have encountered a few obstacles, including Covid uncertainties, Family deaths, and funding issues. During COVID-19, with all the supply issues, we constantly had to find different sources that could supply us with the high-quality products we needed to make all of our products. We lost my mother to brain cancer in 2021. She was only 51 and one of our biggest supporters. We have also lost 2 of my grandmothers, and Dimitri lost a cousin just in the past 2 years. Trying to continue to push through was one of our most challenging struggles. Funding is always something any small business has to work through, and with our business being entirely self-funded, some of our growth has been slower than we’d like, but we will never stop. Almost all of these struggles alone could cause a business to fall through, but we have always pushed back harder. We were selected to be part of the Super Bowl Business Connect Program, where we bid and successfully won two Super Bowl contracts. We catered over two hundred fifty-five gallons of salsa. That salsa was served at the Eagles Conference Championship dinner and the NFL Media night party, where people worldwide were raving about our salsa.

Thanks for sharing that. So, tell us more about your work next.
As I mentioned before, we were selected to be part of the Super Bowl Business Connect Program. That is one of our most significant accomplishments yet. Since then, we have extended our services to offer full-service catering. My husband and I constantly develop new, exciting ideas for our small business. We recently purchased our very first food cart. We are working up a few contracts with local medical offices to be their exclusive cater for any events they have. This is all just scratching the surface of our plans for this company.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Fun fact about my husband Dimitri and I: we are both natives of Arizona, and we were actually both born at the same hospital along with our firstborn son Hunter, after whom the business is named. We love Arizona and Phoenix. We have watched it grow over the years, and we love how much Arizona sticks to its history and fully embraces it. The double-edged sword of Phoenix growing so fast is the amount of traffic. We love growing with Phoenix, but the traffic could be better.

Pricing:

• 16oz salsas 10.50 each
• 8oz salsa 6.50 each
• Nacho Bar catering 250 people with service $700
• Nacho Bar catering 250 people self serve $600

Contact Info:

• Website: www.huntersdesertsalsa.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/huntersdesertsalsa?igsh=cG9xdmttcGZwazlo