UC Graduate finds entrepreneurial success with her salsa company

"Growing up in Mexico, Magdalena De La Cruz Cook-Garcia (a.k.a. “Maggie”) learned to prepare meals for a large family, but she never anticipated her salsa recipe would someday emerge into a business. A passion for basketball led her to the United States in 1998, where she played for the University of Charleston. After graduating [in 2002], she remained in West Virginia to work as an interior designer.

With encouragement from friends, Maggie entered and won Capitol Market's 2004 Summer Salsa Contest on a whim. Given that most salsas are cooked, she recognized that her blend of fresh vegetables was unique. So she designed her own packaging, found local stores willing to stock the product, and eventually left her day job to pursue the venture full time. Since October 2007, Maggie’s Salsa has been distributed regionally by Whole Foods Market, which has 194 U.S. stores.

This requires production of over 10,000 pounds of salsa per week, and the below video provides a look into the process. If you’ve never tried Maggie’s Salsa, check out the following locations and let us know what you think."

Reproduced from an article on "A Better West Virginia" Blog by Jason Keeling >>
Read article from original source >>
Photo courtesy of Maggiessalsa.com
Video courtesy of Maggie's Salsa through YouTube.com