Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Sullivan.
Tyler Sullivan (CEO of Sully’s Salsa) like many 12 years old kids, is really into sports, gaming and Fortnite. In June 2020 (in the HEART of the pandemic when most kids were on their electronic devices WAY more than they should), his Mom was checking her credit card bill when she saw charge after charge to Apple for Fortnite V-bucks. She had no idea that her credit card was hooked up to either of her son’s electronic devices!! After a couple of calls to Apple customer service, it was discovered that Tyler was the culprit behind the V-bucks spending spree! As ANGRY parents, we decided to make Tyler pay back every single cent of what he owed us (and told him he couldn’t get any electronic devices back until he did).
After ten days of doing chores and only earning around $15, Tyler was devastated and frustrated. Would he EVER get access to his iPad again? His mom said, “better get creative” and that’s when Tyler had an idea.
He knew that his Dad had a tasty salsa recipe and that many of his neighbors loved heat! So he started testing different flavors and using different peppers from his family’s garden. Tyler made a couple of batches of salsa and asked his mom to post on Facebook asking their friends and neighbors to order…and the rest as they say, is history!
Tyler paid off his debt in five days and the business just took off! Eventually, it got too big for our own kitchen so we had to outsource. We went through a stringent FDA approval process and had to alter the recipe so that it could be jarred. This process took months to complete but we finally felt comfortable with a recipe that tasted just as delicious jarred as it did fresh.
In June 2021, we started selling at four local farmer’s markets, have done local festivals and even sell in boutique stores and direct to consumers online at www.sullyssalsa.com.
In 2021, we did $25K in sales and are on target for $50K in 2022!!!
We cannot believe how far this business has taken us and we hope you give us a try! Once you try Sully’s Slammin Fresh Salsa, the other brands just won’t do!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Although our loyal customers have encouraged us to keep our business running, it definitely hasn’t been an easy road. We spend ALL of our spare time chasing this family dream. We never would have imagined that we would run a mini salsa empire but here we are! Every weekend you will find us at a local farmers market, event, or fair selling our product.
It’s exhausting because with two parents that work full time, two kids sports schedules, and our active social lives…we already have a ton on our plate.
But we are dedicated to this family business that we have created and nothing is going to stop us!
Our biggest challenge came in the beginning of 2021 when we moved from fresh to jarred salsa. We knew the business was getting too big for our own kitchen so we decided to hire a copacker to make it for us. In order to make it in bulk and box it up (without refrigeration needed), we had to boil our product which would then give it a shelf life of a year. The jarring process TOTALLY changed the taste of our salsa. We spent about three months testing our product in the kitchen and changing the recipe to get it to where we felt it tasted the same. We were scared to bite the bullet and order about $3K in inventory to sell, not being sure that people would love it as much as the fresh, but in the end, our hard work paid off. People LOVE the taste and often say it’s better than the fresh. I hope this effort instills in our boys a lesson in work ethic. Nothing is ever easy, but if you keep trying, you can do almost anything!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Our business is Sully’s Slammin Fresh Salsa. www.sullyssalsa.com It’s the only salsa business in Atlanta that is owned and operated by a 12 year old.
People LOVE our salsa because every parent I talk to says “oh my gosh, my child has spent money on my credit card too”. Apparently, accidentally hooking up your credit card to your child’s electronic device happens ALL THE TIME!
When they hear how we took a bad situation and turned into something great, they buy our salsa!! Then they come back to us because our product is ABSOLUTELY delicious! People tell us all the time that we managed to make lemonade out of lemons…and we tell them, in this case, we made salsa out of tomatoes!
What sets us apart from others is the fact that we are a premium salsa that sits right on the shelf! Most premium salsas sit in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, but not ours. In every bite, you are getting FRESH, locally grown vegetables and you can easily see why our product doesn’t even compete with big box salsa companies. We are a taste and texture of our own that cannot be beat!
Finally, our product means something to people because it was something good that came out of the pandemic. SO many negative things happened and so many people got sick…including our family! Tyler’s Nana died from cancer in Nov 2019 and then the pandemic hit. Tyler’s Papa got critically ill from Covid and was in the ICU for five days. We almost lost him too.
But through the darkness, we found a light. We were able to bond our family in a way that we never imagined possible. This business made us ALL get in the kitchen and work together and for that, we are truly grateful!
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Advice for others is to GO FOR IT! What’s the worst that can happen…you fail? So what? People fail all the time….don’t live with regret. Also, try something different. Did we EVER think that we would be making salsa? Never…but here we are!!!
Pricing:
- $10/jar – mild
- $10/jar – hot
Contact Info:
- Email: sullysslamminsalsa@gmail.com
- Website: https://sullyssalsa.com/
- Instagram: @sullyssalsa
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sullyssalsa
Image Credit:
Photographer – Jessica Griggs
