Maria Flores had no culinary training. She had little business experience and minimal financing to turn an out-there idea into a profitable enterprise.
What she had was an opportunity. Two years ago, she entered her scratch-made chorizo paste into H-E-B’s Quest for Texas Best brand competition.
In a field of more than 500 entries, Flores’ product won first place. She collected $20,000 and received mentoring and marketing support from H-E-B.
Today, 160 H-E-B stores across San Antonio and Texas carry “Abuela’s Original Chorizo Paste” and two variations, “Verde Chorizo Paste” and “Spanish Chorizo Paste.”
The brand competition victory turned Flores’ start-up, Hess Street Foods, into a thriving company.
“It’s one thing to start a business, it’s another thing to grow it,” Flores said. “Winning the H-E-B competition catapulted my business. Now all Texas knows about us!”
The plant-based, preservative-free paste is everywhere. You can find jars at Central Market and Pullman Market. You can find them at H-E-B’s in Boerne, Kerrville, Austin, Round Rock, Corpus Christi, Laredo, Houston, Dallas, the Rio Grande Valley and other cities.
“At H-E-B, we’re focused on supporting small, local businesses,” said Crystal Royal, the company’s Supplier Diversity Program Manager. “And we want to work with brands that resonate with Texans across the state.”
Flores’ product is evolving. The name will soon change to “Abuela’s Original Chorizo Seasoning.”
Why? “Because a lot of people feel it has meat inside, like a spread,” she said. “And it doesn’t. It’s just the flavor. It’s the flavor our abuelas used to make.”
Flores’ abuela, or grandmother, Luisa Maria Gutierrez, was a third-generation chorizo maker in Saltillo, the capital city of Coahuila, Mexico. In 1955, Gutierrez and her husband, Juan Jose Flores, moved to San Antonio and settled on Hess Street.
Eventually, the family moved back to Mexico. When her husband died, Gutierrez began making chorizo to support her children. She wrote down the recipe and gave it to her Monterrey-born granddaughter, then in her early 20s. Maria Flores saved the recipe as a keepsake.
Flores got married in Mexico, moved to the U.S. and lived in different cities, before settling in Crozet, Virginia (pop. 10,700). She worked as a part-time court interpreter and translator for hospitals and clinics.
When the COVID-19 pandemic reached her community, Flores thought of her abuela and the chorizo recipe. She could not travel to Mexico or visit out-of-state family. But she could fill her house with the aroma of chorizo and bring a taste of Mexico to Virginia.
Into the kitchen she went. After numerous attempts, Flores finally replicated her abuela’s chorizo. She shared her creation, uniquely seasoned pork sausage, with neighbors. They encouraged her to start a chorizo business.
“Most of them didn’t have any idea what chorizo was,” Flores said. “But they wanted more and more.”
Flores and her family relocated to San Antonio in 2021. Two years later, she started her business. In honor of her grandparents, she named it after the street they once lived on.
“I wanted people to have a memory of home in their pantries — a way to reconnect with tradition, with the aromas of the past and with the legacy of our ancestors,” Flores said. “I wanted people to taste the very best chorizo flavor. And I wanted to share my own memory of chorizo as a note of gratitude to this country, and as a warm embrace for those who are far from home.”
The start-up hit a roadblock. The cost to mass produce chorizo was prohibitive. Unable to see a way forward, Flores wondered, “Is this the end of the road for me?”
Another idea emerged. What if she simply made the paste? Flores remembered a bowl in her abuela’s kitchen. She remembered a paste-like substance with a mixture of flavors. Why not pivot from making chorizo to putting chorizo flavored paste in a jar?
“I tried it out with some chefs,” she said. “They loved it and we didn’t change one thing.”
Several months after launching Hess Street Foods, Flores applied for the H-E-B brand competition. She did not expect to win.
“Several factors made Hess Street foods stand out,” said Royal from H-E-B. “But most importantly, Maria’s story was relatable. And through her products, she shares her family’s history, which is inspired by tradition and the deep flavors of her abuela’s cooking.”
Flores recently shared her story with a gathering at SA Startup Day at Geekdom. She recalled her abuela cleaning chilies, peeling garlic and blending spices from whole to ground, a process that took hours.
“That’s exactly how we do it,” Flores said. “But of course with state-of-the-art equipment.”
Flores marvels at the journey: from a kitchen in Mexico to a company in San Antonio to a product sold on shelves throughout Texas. “Abuela’s Original Chorizo Paste” brings a taste of Flores’ childhood to homes across the state.
