Alumni and Friends Directory

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Biography

Salsa Queen (yes, that’s her legal name) started in 2014 as a single mother in order to provide for her 7 children. Since then, the company (also Salsa Queen) has quickly grown into the largest regional producer of fresh, gourmet salsas now in more than 1000 stores in 30+ states. However, to truly understand the remarkable story of Salsa Queen, one must go back even further.

Salsa Queen immigrated to the US with her family when she was still a teenager and spoke no English. She spent 11-months practically living at the Children’s Hospital when her first child was being treated for leukemia. Unfortunately, he passed away, but she was blessed with 7 others.

As a result of her divorce, she found herself needing to provide for her children without any work experience or even a high school degree. It was important that her new business reflect her love of cooking and cultural background, which is how Salsa Queen was born.

At first, orders were generated from Facebook postings. She and her children would make the salsas around their small kitchen in their Magna house. On Saturday, she would drive to various parking lots throughout the Salt Lake valley and meet up with the buyers. Knowing that there was a market for her gourmet products, she applied to various farmers’ markets and was accepted into the Wheeler Farmers’ Market. At the end of the season, she was able to get into four local stores before eventually getting into Kroger and Associated Foods the following year.

Day of the Dead (Nov. 2nd) is an important holiday in Mexican culture. It is a day to remember family members who have passed on. The Sugar Skull is prominently displayed and closely associated with this holiday. She incorporated the sugar skull as the Salsa Queen logo and it is a constant reminder of her first child who passed away, so for her Salsa Queen is the ultimate in a family-owned business.

One of her proudest accomplishments is that her initial motivation of providing for her family is now allowing her 30+ employees to provide for theirs. In 2019, she completed the naturalization process during which time she legally changed her name to ‘Salsa Queen Zapata’. Salsa Queen LLC is 100% Woman/Minority owned and is living proof that the America dream is alive, vibrant and successful.