Thirty years ago, Salsa Queen (Yes, that is her legal name; she was formerly known as Marhaba Zapata) came to the United States from Monterrey, Mexico, with her family, a suitcase with a few clothes, and one or two pictures. She was 17.
A Rough Start
“We didn’t speak English and we weren’t legal. I wasn’t able to finish high school due to the barrier of language because I thought they were asking me for some legal papers,” she said.
She became a single mom and her first child, a son, died of leukemia when he was under two years old. It was heartbreaking, but she honors him now on the Salsa Queen logo.
“In Mexico, the sugar skull represents El Dia de Los Muertos (or Day of the Dead),” she explained. “It is a very holy day with a lot of spiritual meaning. We believe that our ancestors come back from the dead. I wanted to remember him {my son}, which is why I chose to put the crown on top of my logo, of course.”
After her son died, she met a man at the hospital who became her husband. Together they had six children but divorced. She remarried again and had another son, but that marriage also ended in divorce.
“I found myself a single mother of seven kids with no education whatsoever, and I had never really had a job. I was concerned about how I would put food on the table for them,” she said.
Then she met someone online who changed her life forever, Jim Birch, who eventually became her husband. They met because of one word: “bachata.”
“It was the secret word,” Jim said, laughing. “In her online profile, she listed liking Latin ballroom dancing, including ‘bachata. ’I had taken a class where I learned a lot of different dances, and bachata was one of them.”
“And it worked!” Salsa Queen laughs.
Jim believed in her when she did not believe in herself. “He is very entrepreneurial and dragged me into this world, but for the first time in my life, somebody asked me, ‘What would I like to do?’ And I said, ‘What is that supposed to mean?’ I didn’t know what I wanted to do.
“He started throwing a few ideas out there for me, and I was game for anything. I knew that I needed to provide for my kids. We talked about several things, but I wanted to do something that speaks to my culture and fits me, so we decided on salsa,” she said.
When Life Gives You Tomatoes, You Make Salsa
Six years ago, Salsa Queen started making salsas in her kitchen with her children. “It was truly a family affair, from my son who was two years old at the time to my oldest son who was 15. Everybody was in the kitchen and doing their part. I started with $3,000 and now have the largest-selling local salsa in Utah. It has been an amazing road,” she said.
They started selling salsa on Facebook first. “We became salsa dealers,” she laughs. “We’d say we were making salsa that day and take orders on Facebook. Then we’d be at a certain parking lot in the valley at a certain time. We’d meet, exchange money, then we’d go to the next parking lot.”
Then they started selling at farmer’s markets. Salsa Queen said one of her mentors, Jorga Fierro (owner of Frida Bistro and Rico brands) told her to just take 50 containers of salsa. “He wanted me to be careful, not to take too much so my feelings didn’t get hurt. I said, ‘Oh, I am going to take a 100.'” She had another brand-new salsa. But she said, ‘Come back in a week.’ I did. I was wearing my crown, my apron, and had a bunch of salsas. I said, ‘When do I start?’ She said, ‘Oh, Marhaba, how can I say ‘no’ to you?’”
After that Salsa Queen started pitching larger grocery stores. Every time she went to do a pitch, she never doubted. “I never thought, ‘What if they say no?’ I am just going to go, present my product, and of course, they are going to say ‘yes,’’“ she said.
When she pitched to Smith’s Grocery Store she did it because Jim had upset her, and she was going to “show him.” She called them. The buyer tried to put her off, but once she said her product was fresh he told her to come in a few days.
“Oh my gosh! I was so excited, but I still had no idea what I was getting myself into. I got to Smith’s, and I had my Costco bag. I have my apron, this big flower on my head, and bright colors. Here I am walking behind the buyer and I tell myself, ‘Don’t be nervous, he is just human too.’ I get there. I start opening my salsas. I put them on his desk, and I opened the bag of chips. I started telling him my story and he tried the ‘Pico de Gallo’ and he said, ‘You ’re in.’“
Within two hours, they were sold out. “It gave me so much hope. I said, ‘Oh my gosh! This is amazing!’“
Every farmer’s market after that, they sold out, weekend after weekend. After this success, Jim thought they should aim for grocery stores. Salsa Queen told him, “Here you go, you ’re crazy. ” But he put the idea in her head, and she ran with it. She went to smaller local stores first. Within five minutes, there were 50 people in the office, and they were all trying the salsas. The man told Salsa Queen, “OK, let’s make some space for you. How many stores do you want? We will give you whatever you want. ”
“I was like, ‘Should I cry? What should I do? I had no idea what was happening,’“ she said.
She met with the administrative assistant to sign papers. The assistant said, “Marhaba, in 17 years that I have worked here, this has never happened. People die and wait for years to get into Smith’s. Take care of your spot.”
That was four years ago. By the end of 2020, Salsa Queen will be in over 100 stores.
“We have been very blessed,” she said. “I feel my story of being an immigrant and all the struggles I had to face to be here are very touching for people. It’s been fun. It is challenging. It has been painful. It has been all the emotions you can imagine. But my biggest accomplishment has been that I created this company to provide for myself and my kids, but now I am providing for other families. That is huge for me! It chokes me up.”
Many people ask her, “Why do you think you are successful?” She says, “I am not going to say that I’m happy I didn’t go to school, but I am happy that I was determined. I didn’t have a plan B. It happened because it had to happen. I had to put food on the table for my kids.
We used to have food stamps and get government help, and I am very thankful for it, but it wasn’t a lifestyle I wanted. I wanted them to know that if you really want to achieve something it is totally possible. I played against all the odds. I was an immigrant, I didn’t speak the language, I never went to college, I never really held a job, and here we are. It is exciting!”
Finding the Right People
As for keeping mentally fit, Salsa Queen says one of the best ways is to have great relationships. “It is a challenge to balance work, success, peacefulness, and distress,” she said. “It is very hard to navigate. Having a good group of people who are there for you: spouse, friends, and family who are supportive is so important.”
Salsa Queen says Jim has always been a great support and she remembers a time when she was doing a taste sampling in Park City. She texted him and said, “Thank you for giving me wings to fly.” And he texted back and said, “You had them all along. You just didn’t know.”
“Oh my gosh, that is so true,” she said. “We all have wings, but sometimes it takes an awesome person to actually believe in you and support you [before you can fly].”
She says another way is to see your weaknesses as strengths. She doesn’t see herself as bossy or stubborn, but strong and determined.
She says it is crucial to find good mentors. “Get people to help you with things you have no idea about. You still have your own journey, but having mentors can take you to the next level faster than doing it all by yourself.”
Visit salsaqueen.com to learn more.
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