Tia Lupita Foods is a brand that makes Healthy Mexican Foods. This brand makes different types of healthy Mexican foods using natural ingredients and also sells them. There are many people who like Mexican foods because these foods are tasty and also have spices.
Tia Lupita Foods was launched in 2016 by Hector Saldivar. Initially, the brand only sold hot sauce in San Francisco. There is a small story at the beginning of this business.
Saldivar was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and moved to the United States in 2005 for a job. He lived in the United States for many years and worked with several food and beverage brands, including Diamond Foods, Nestle, Klass Time, and more.
Saldivar’s mother used to send him hot sauce made from a home recipe. When he shared this hot sauce with his mother with his friend, they liked its taste a lot and it is also healthy. After this Tia Lupita Foods was born.
After growing the company, a $100,000 amount was invested by Frank Defesche, a friend of Saldivar. By April 2022, the brand’s products were available at 4,000+ retail stores nationwide, with an estimated $8 million in sales by 2022.
Hector Saldivar appeared on Shark Tank Season 14 Episode 20 for funding and asked the sharks for $500,000 for 5% equity at $10 Million Valuation.
What Is Tia Lupita Foods?
Tia Lupita is a food and beverage company that focuses on healthy Mexican foods such as hot sauce, tortilla chips, and more.
Hot sauce is the best-selling product of this brand, it has toasted spice with red chili peppers and a little vinegar zing is also added.
Tortilla chips are available in different flavors and these chips contain high fiber. The brand’s products are available at 5,000+ retail stores nationwide including Whole Foods, Walmart, and many more. Apart from this, you will also get it on Amazon.
| Company Name | Tia Lupita Foods |
| Founder | Hector Saldivar |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Product | mexican inspired food made with natural ingredients |
| Asked For | $500k for 5% equity |
| Final Deal | $500k as a line of credit at a 12.5% interest rate for 5% equity non-diluted |
| Shark | Kevin O’Leary |
| Episode (Shark Tank USA) | S14 E20 |
| Air Date | April 14, 2023 |
| Business Status | In Business |
| Website | Visit Website |
| Headquarters | Tiburon, California, United States |
| Lifetime Worth (Sales) | $8M *estimated |
| Go To Amazon | Buy Now |
| Watch On | Amazon Prime |
Another Shark Tank Pitch
How Was The Shark Tank Pitch Of Tia Lupita Foods?
Saldivar entered Shark Tank and asked the sharks for $500k for 5% equity. He very nicely explained to Shark about the beneficial properties of the product.
The founder has revealed that their brand products are available at Sprouts, Wegmans, Walmart, Target, Publix, and More.
In 2020 they lost $700k, in 2021 the loss went up to $1.2 million. The surprising thing is that till now they have raised $1.9 million. After raising the fund, Saldivar now holds 65% of the company’s shares.
He has so far invested $700K of his own money in this business. The Cactus Tortilla Chips Sea Salt cost $0.50 to make and sell for $3.99-$4.99.
All the sharks are out but Kevin O’Leary is interested in this business. Kevin decides to offer a debt of $500k @ 12.5% loan (36-month period) for 10% equity.
Saldivar counters Kevin with a $500k line of credit at 12.5% interest for 7.5% equity. Kevin refused this counteroffer.
Saldivar countered with another $500k as a line of credit at a 12.5% interest rate for 5% equity, that 5% would not be diluted. Kevin O’Leary accepted the offer.
Finalize: Kevin O’Leary invests $500k as a line of credit @ 12.5% interest rate in “Tia Lupita Foods” for for 5% non-diluted stake.
Tia Lupita Foods Shark Tank Update
Tia Lupita Foods Gets Deal On Shark Tank By Kevin O’Leary. Saldivar appeared very happy after this deal.
On April 18, 2023, Saldivar shared a video on the brand’s social media accounts Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. In the video, Saldivar said, that after this episode of Shark Tank aired, the website’s visitors and orders increased rapidly.
About 30,000 visitors checked out on the company’s shop site from April 14 to April 19. Before Shark Tank, their shop site used to get around 1,500 visitors every week.
On April 28, ‘Salsa Macha’ became available at Publix Food and Pharmacy retail stores in the United States. As of May 4, 2023, ‘Tia Lupita’ is available at Costco Wholesale Canada stores with 3x flavors.
Recently their products have become available at Save-On-Foods and Pattison Food Group retail stores. As of 10 2023, talks are going on with Walmart regarding the deal.
After entering the shark tank, Hector Saldivar told the sharks about his business and revealed how much money they had lost so far. All the sharks refused to invest in this business, but Kevin O’Leary signed a deal with this business for a line of credit.
We’re following Hector Saldivar along with his company for further updates.
What is The Net Worth of Tia Lupita Foods?
The current worth of Tia Lupita Foods is estimated at $10 million. Since 2016, this company has been running officially. Founder Saldivar has invested $700k of his savings in this business.
In many countries people like to eat Mexican Food, United States is one of them. There are many Mexican restaurants in the United States and the number of restaurants is increasing by 2.4% from 2018-23.
After Shark Tank, Founder Saldivar himself revealed that their sales had skyrocketed within a week. Overall this business is doing well now.
There is a specialty in the logo of this brand, in the logo the picture of Saldivar’s moms has been used as the brand identity.
The brand has been featured in several media publications including Entrepreneur, Food Business News, and many more.
The brand is headquartered in Tiburon, California, United States, and employs 2-10 people, according to LinkedIn.
Yes, Tia Lupita Foods is still in business as of April 2024.
