Founder Feature: TUYYO FOODS - Jocelyn Ramirez, Regina Trillo, Stefanie Garcia Turner

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1:04you've heard so many stories from the solo entrepreneur journey and it's really tough but it's also super lonely and just going at it and trying to build the business and knowing like I know I have something that's resonating but like it's not quite there and I can't figured out myself and being able to partner with other like Latinas that are like-minded going after the same objective and then bringing in their thought process it really was like a light bulb moment of here's how we can make it better. There's just like little things like that where I would have been like I don't know what I could do like this is it this is too much and then the other two are just like the level-headed like don't worry go cry in the corner we're gonna figure this out.

1:54There were so many things going on and we divided and conquered. So that has been also an amazing experience of, hey, we've got each other. Hey everybody, this is Caitlin Bricker, Managing Editor at Startup CPG. We are back with another founder feature. Today I'm sitting down with Jocelyn, Stephanie, and Regina of Tuyo Foods, a heritage-rooted modern Latin food company born from the merger of three separate brands. Todo Verde's umami chef-crafted taco seasoning, Tuyo's now-redesigned Agua Fresca stick packs with electrolytes, and Nemi Snacks' high-protein chips made with nopal and prickly pear.

2:31Tuyo means you and me and yours in Spanish, a name rooted in community and the belief that food is the great equalizer. We're diving into why three solo founders decided to merge their businesses instead of competing, how they're executing at record speed with retail launches at Whole Foods and Raley's already happening, what it feels like to finally not carry the weight of CPG alone, and their revenue share fundraising campaign to scale this beautifully aligned mission that centers immigrant stories, farmer relationships, and building this community, not just for it. We hear from founders on this podcast every week.

3:05If you're a brand and you want to get new opportunities right in your inbox, text CPG to 833-605-7002 and we'll get you hooked up. As always, enjoy. Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Startup CPG podcast. This is Caitlin, and today I'm here with Jocelyn, Rahina, and Stephanie of Tuyo Foods. Ladies, welcome to the show. This is the first time I think I've had a three-on-one conversation, but I am very excited for this. Hello. Thank you for having us. Yeah, thanks for having us. It's so great to have you all here. Before we kick things off and dive into all things Tuyo Foods, let's tell the audience what Tuyo Foods is.

3:47Jocelyn, you care to give us some insight? Yeah, Tuyo Foods is a heritage-rooted modern Latin food company. Perfect. Beautiful. And from my understanding, all three of you came from different CPG brands and decided to come together as one. So I need to hear more. I guess we'll start with you, Jocelyn. Can you tell us what you were doing prior to Tuyo Foods becoming this big brand all in one. Yeah. Prior to Tuyo, I had a company called Todo Verde and the products that I had on shelves was umami chef crafted taco seasoning that came into the merger. Two of those SKUs came into the merger. And Stephanie, how about you?

4:31So I had the original, what we call Tuyo 1.0 doing the instant aguas frescas in canisters. So like a multi-serving. And since coming into the merger, we designed and repackaged those into single serve stick packs with electrolytes. And I just saw the rebrand at Summer Fancy Food and it is excellent. I loved the colors in Tuyo before, but now I feel like the vibe, it's vibing. As it was meant to be. Good, good. Well, you're hitting it. It's being hit on for sure. Regina, what were you doing prior to this merger? I was with Nemi Snacks. It was also a Latin inspired food company and we were making high protein high fiber chips in Mexican flavors using nopales to pripli per paddle in the snacks.

5:18And what made you all come together? What was that moment where you decided, actually, we don't need to be solo founders anymore. Why don't we just come together and turn this into one big brand? Yeah, I mean, you kind of sound like me in the back of an Uber going to the airport with Regina. That was the first time this came up. We had just traveled all around Texas at central market stores doing demos together and just trying to cost save. And in every car ride that we had and like before going to sleep every night, we were just like, what about this? And have you tried working with this person for social media?

5:54And we were just sharing resources constantly. And so at the end of that trip, Regina suggested, why don't we have a recurring sort of standing call where we can just continue to be that support for each other? And I was like, how about this? Like, how about we bring our brands together? and it stayed at that it stayed a conversation point maybe about a year later Stephanie and I were prepping for Newtopia and so we had a call where we were just trying to gather where we're staying and events we were going to and at the end of that call she's like what if we bring our brands together and whether it's a holding company or like just trying to figure out a way to make this stronger and with more people behind it more very competent people behind it and I had that OMG moment.

6:37I was talking to Regina about this. Like, would you be down for it to be the three of us? And she said, yes. And we decided let's go to Newtopia. We'll chat in person. And then let's loop in Regina afterwards. Literally the weekend of Newtopia, Regina out of the blue text me, can you talk? And I'm like, yes, call me now. And then she's like, I'm ready. Let's do this without me telling her about the conversation with Stephanie. And so it was another like, whoa, oh, this is truly manifesting. I did put this on a New Year's 2025 manifestation for the year of I want co-founders and I want to grow this with other people that will feel like family.

7:18And it just felt like one of those moments where the universe was like, ask and you shall receive. And then we just got on a call after that. We kept recurring calls. We kept kind of thinking through it. We had a retreat in person in Chicago and where we really laid down like how we would want to work together. And like the rest is history. It's been 10 months and it feels like it's been much longer than that, but it's been such an, in a good way, in a very good way. Cause like we've definitely covered a lot of ground and then also just really laid down the foundation of how to build this in a way from a business perspective that feels sustainable, but then also from a partnership perspective that feels very aligned.

8:00I would love to hear from all three of you. Let's start with you, Stephanie, if you don't mind. Are there any pieces of your business operating on an individual level that you felt like, oh, I'm really going to miss this, or I'm actually really excited to pull my resources and do this together? Definitely the latter. I mean, get it. You've heard so many stories from the solo entrepreneur journey, and it's really tough, but it's also super lonely. And just going at it and trying to build the business and knowing like, I know I have something that's resonating, but like, it's not quite there. And I can't figure it out myself.

8:42And being able to partner with other like Latinas that are like minded, going after the same objective and then bringing in their thought process, it really was like a light bulb moment of here's how we can make it better. I mean, I really don't miss anything, to be honest. Good answer. I don't miss like anything. Rikina, how about you? How did you feel during this merger and during these conversations? Did you feel like there was any pieces that you were going to be missing working on as a solopreneur or Or were you just excited, like Stephanie, to just go all in as a team? No, I was excited.

9:19And I was all in also the same as Steph. Because I think when the three of us got together, and it was during that conversation, not the first conversation we had in August, but the retreat that we did like three weeks after that first conversation, I was really looking forward to figuring out how to do it better and how to do it stronger. And the three of us, we have complementary skills. And we had a lot of conversations about what do you enjoy doing? What do you not? And when you have a business and you're a solo founder, you take on a lot. You take a lot of things that you have to run for the business that you don't always enjoy.

9:52And luckily, the three of us had already data of what we did that was working and what was not working. So that also helped us just make the decision of what's next and what each of us are going to do. and I was so happy to dump the marketing to Joss and have full trust in what she was doing and the sales also on Stephanie and me keeping on the operations side of it. Maybe next year it'll be different, hopefully not, but as of right now, it's been an amazing journey and I think it's exceeded my expectations because I had only experienced business as a solo founder and I really appreciate how decisions take significantly less time.

10:33not only to make, but to execute. And I think that's been why we've been able to do this at record time of it's 10 months and we're in stores already. The branding is done. We're in distributors. We have, like, everything is happening as if we had our brands in a way early 2025 when we were not even thinking about, I mean, we weren't thinking, but we didn't express the want and the need for a merge, the three of us. But no, it's all been good so far. Another great answer. I can only imagine that that sentiment is carrying across to your retail partners, too, because if you're able to execute so quickly and make those decisions so quickly and be in alignment so quickly, they're like, we're set up for success.

11:15What else could you possibly ask for? Jocelyn, you're in the hot seat now. Anything you miss from being a solopreneur? I mean, honestly, no, I'm in agreement. Like, I think that we really did split up the areas in which like we feel like we're more experts in. Right. So I'm doing the marketing. Dahina mentioned operations, Stephanie sales. And I will admit, like, after a big event like Expo West and following up with like all the sales leads and all the forms, I don't miss that. I really don't. Like, I'm glad Stephanie's like willing and able to take that part of the work on. We can have a whole other podcast about sales or buyer forms.

11:56I mean, I know it just from startup CPG side of things. We are form heavy over here. Apologies to everyone. Yeah, it's a little bit of insanity sometimes. So there aren't things that I miss. I think I'm excited to like keep growing in this area that I am already love to do. But then like expanding my skill set even more is really awesome. I am super curious. How did you decide to take the Tuyo Foods name instead of any of your other names prior to the merge? Yeah, I mean, we talked about a lot of different names, Caitlin. We were like, mesa this and what's a two syllable word that's easy and that translates, but this is still Latino.

12:37And like, we're trying to figure it out. And then like every time we'd have a conversation, we just keep coming back to Tuyo. But like if it was like Tuyo, at some point we were like, it's Tuyo. Like it's going to be Tuyo. We can give it a whole new meaning. It can feel like a new brand, even though we're using an existing name. And then also from a logistical standpoint, the fact that Tuyo Foods is already set up with Kehi, UNFI, like is already working with a lot of channels that we were going to have to work with anyway. It made it more streamlined and easy for us to just get started. OK, so two questions.

13:10What does Tuyo mean? Yeah, so it's two things. It's tú y yo, which is you and me in Spanish. And it also means yours, tú y yo with the one Y, T-U-Y-O. And when I was thinking about means in 2020, when considering doing this, I really wanted there to be an aspect of community to the brand as a whole. And like, I'm a big believer, like why be in business if there's no benefit to anyone else out there? I don't think like that's not the way I want to do business. And so that just kept resonating is like, Tuyo, like it's yours. Tuyo, you and me, everybody comes to the table to share food and drink.

13:53It's like the one equalizer, I think, in everybody's life. Like we all need food. Yeah. And I just felt like Tuyo really embodied that. It makes a lot of sense. And I have to ask you, Regina, from an operational standpoint, we just touched on it. What did it look like to now onboard more products into the Tuyo line when it came to distribution and retail? Were people like, whoa, what's going on? How do you approach that and how do you communicate that to retailers and distribution? It's been a challenge and we looked at it at just different timelines for communicating and who will be communicating it with first.

14:29The first people that we communicated with were our retailers. And we actually brought them into the conversation of, if we did this, would you be on board? What do you think about this? We actually shared why we chose Tuyo. We asked for their feedback. We shared everything with our branding, our draft number one, number two, number three. We kept sharing it with them. And we made a list of the retailers that we wanted to be, want them to be part of this journey as well. Because at the end of the day, we would be on the shelves too. And we wanted to make them part of this journey. So that first conversation was also then, what do you need from us?

15:02And what is the timeline that we have? Because there's now more SKUs. I mean, even on the back end, operationally, the challenge of dealing with more suppliers, different comments and, you know, and everything that happens on the day to day behind the scenes. But on the front facing for the retailer was what is our timeline? When do we need to tell you? When do we need to transition? What do we need? Different distributors, some also working direct distribution with a retailer. So, I mean, the three of us, since the beginning, we started communicating almost daily on what needed to happen. We brought in an operator that helped us for about three months to look at what were the opportunities, what were the challenges as independent companies, as now a unified company, and how could we leverage that when it came to our suppliers, retailers, etc.

15:48We brought in a team of attorneys, we brought in a CFO and the designers. So it felt we structured the process and the merge in a way that, A, you know, we were not alone anymore. And in a way that was disciplined, because we had an internal and timeline of Expo West. And that's where we did a soft launch of some of our products. And I mean, they're our partners in every way. And their response was phenomenal when it came to not only supporting us, but giving us also the time and space that we needed. And it was all about communicating. This is ready. This is not. There's been some setbacks on here.

16:21We're ready earlier than expected. So we just need to keep that line of communication direct and transparent. And that's what we're still doing. It really sounds like from the name Tuyo and these deep meanings, this like really... Did you hear that? That's opportunity knocking. We've been building something big. Introducing Opportunity Knocks, a new campaign giving startup CPG brands exclusive direct access to submit to leading retailers, distributors, investors, media, and more. Here's how it works. On Fridays, a new submission window opens exclusively for active Startup CPG email subscribers.

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17:45Sentimental value that comes from the name and then also bringing that together with Three of you bringing a large community and distilling it down into this smaller community within yourselves and then bringing in your retail partners and distribution partners to have them be part of that conversation. Community is obviously it runs deep with all of you. And I know that family is also very big when it comes to you and your culture too. So I'd love to hear from all three of you how you're keeping your individual brands alive within this now new brand of Tuyo Foods. And maybe if you want to share a story about how food has played a big part in your life and your culture with your family.

18:28Yeah, I mean, food has been like such a huge part of my journey. I actually started cooking around my grandmother when I was really young. She was the matriarch of our family. She would bring people together and make record amounts of tamales and also sometimes made individual meals depending on who was coming over. So if she knew I was coming over, it was like my sopa de fideo, my brother's chile de huache, just because she knew what our favorites were. And so I really saw how people can show love through food and how you can really like nurture and take care of the people that you care about in that way.

19:03And then also how coming to the table, like a place where you can share like what's happening in your life, get advice, just all of the things. And so my prior life was in higher education and I was a college professor working on a college campus and I was teaching a social justice and civic engagement course. And my main kind of area that I kept focusing on for me personally was food justice and like people having access to good food. And so like I knew I can't tackle this huge issue on my own, but maybe I can start this food business to help me like this much to create healthier food access for Angelenos.

19:41And so here in L.A., I started Todo Verde as a hospitality company where I was doing catering, food service, farmers markets, eventually started catering like official Super Bowl tailgate and doing food service at a L.A. Philharmonic venue. And then the pandemic happened. And that's how I was able to pivot and start doing CPG. And this was like after my cookbook came out. So like I've been doing all things food for a while, but it like started off in such a way that was like more aligned to what I'm really, truly passionate about. And I'm happy to continue to do that now under the Tuyo Foods sort of like umbrella and what we're building and to really take the products that people I see like use at home all the time that are like have become a part of like their regular like staple household which is like so incredible to see like not only do people love your flavors and your products but like you've become a part of their everyday life and they're like consuming the product like they're taking it in it's like becoming a part of their dna and they're using it with their families like to do that just makes me feel like i have a seat at that table and like that's what we're continuing to build here.

20:51It must be a very surreal feeling seeing your products go out into the world and then seeing them be household names in many households and products that people are gravitating towards again and again. I cannot even imagine what that feels like. Yeah, it's special. It definitely sounds and feels that way. I can feel it as you're talking about it. Stephanie, how about you? Any stories that you want to share? Anything special that comes into mind when it comes to food and family and culture for you with this brand? Yeah. Well, you know, I actually started with the aguas frescas because like my grandma would always make her fresh aguas frescas when I was growing up, but I was a child of the eighties.

21:35So I also like loved Kool-Aid, right? And all of those really delicious things that aren't really that great for you. And fast forward, I went to Emory University for my executive MBA and COVID hit. I think everybody has like kind of their COVID-esque story. And I was trying to think of, well, what should I do? Should I go back to corporate life? Should I keep doing some consulting, which is what I was doing at the time? Or should I try something like completely different? And then my grandma ended up having a stroke. She didn't have COVID, but she ended up having a stroke and she ended up passing.

22:08That just kind of like sealed the deal for me. I was like, what is the thing I can do that I can like live with her memory forever? And this is what I did. Sorry, I don't want to tear up. But yeah, that was just the inspiration. And then families, everything. Oh my gosh, we were at Fancy Food. And there is like all these people coming asking where my dad was, because he is the one that like would do these shows with me and my mom and my Thea and my aunt would come. And yeah, I mean, without them, I don't know if I'd be here today. Thank you so much for sharing that, especially about your grandmother.

22:43I love hearing about legacies with brands. And I I think it is such a beautiful tribute and what a great legacy to be able to carry on for your grandmother. So well done. Thank you. Regina, last but not least, let's hear it from you. Yes, food is a connector. And growing up in Mexico City, in a household where everything was about going to the mercado, getting the ingredients, cooking, always having people over, everybody was always welcome. There were never enough seats or chairs, but there's always a floor where you can sit. You can always pour more water into the frijoles to make it more caldoso so that it feeds more people.

23:19Everything was about that. And I never questioned growing up in Mexico City the worth of my culture. And I moved to Chicago for law school. And that experience that I had at the grocery store of seeing all these Hispanic-inspired brands that were rooted in stereotypes about Latin culture really stayed with me. And even I remember when I was just filling in an application for law school and I was asked about my ethnicity. That was the first time I was ever asked about my ethnicity. And I think one of the few spaces in life where all of that disappears, all the differences, the ideology disappears, is food and music.

23:53Sometimes sports, I mean, we see with soccer, but as a Mexican, we're pretty intense when it comes to the fan base. And sometimes we get very passionate slash a little bit aggressive. But when it comes to food and music, that's always a connector. So it was how can we bring people together? and I'm going to start a business in the food space. And as I adventured the food space six years ago, prior to having the Nemi snacks, I was doing immigration law. And a lot of the people that I worked with were farmers in their home countries before they were forced to leave and come to the U.S. as immigrants.

24:27And I remember stories of them saying, we get the minimum of the whole supply chain of we get the least, but they're the most important in the supply chain. So how can we do it in a way that we're working with the community and we're working for the community? And those values, I think, when the first time the three of us connected, because when we had that retreat, we already had a foundation of the three of us. We were friends already and we already knew each other and we had already connected even beyond the CBG space of who are you using for demos? And can you do this intro for me? We had already had a lot of depth conversations about why we're doing what we're doing, why we're here, et cetera.

25:03So when we started together was how can we do this bigger? There is an alignment of products, but there is a bigger alignment on the mission and why we want to do this. So how can we do it in a way that is bigger, that it is better and that it is stronger for the three of us? And how can we really work and do it with the community? And those were, I think, one of the main things that have kept me going of being in the food industry in spite of all the challenges. It is just so massive. I mean, we hear about mergers and acquisitions happening with larger companies. but to see the three of you come together and just hear the passion that's behind what you're doing it's something that's never going to go away I feel like and I think that you really are on the right path by joining forces I have this like image in my mind of all of you like superheroes coming together operations and sales and marketing and you could do it without each other but why would you if you have this great synergy between the three of you?

26:00It's pretty cool to see. And now to hear your story, I've read about it before. We've talked about it in bits and pieces in the past, especially you and I, Jocelyn. But now to see the three of you together here and talking about it, it really is. There's like a very special spark here. Thank you. Yeah. I am so curious now that you have each other in your lives and in your business together, has there been any instance where you have thought to yourself, wow, I am in this position now. And if it was only me as a solo founder, my business would be done. But because I have my two other colleagues here, my business is good and strong.