The Fastest Growing Mexican American Snack Company Began With Just $1,000

Siete Family Foods puts family first and foremost.

greg dupree / food styling by chelsea zimmer / prop styling by christina daley

What is now the fastest-growing Mexican American brand in the U.S. began with $1,000, a CrossFit gym, and a family of seven.

When Veronica Garza was a teenager, she developed an autoimmune sensitivity that forced her to remove gluten and grains from her diet. Her parents and four siblings followed suit, working together to find alternatives to the flour and corn tortillas that they had eaten throughout their lives.

By 2011, Veronica had cracked the code — she made tortillas out of almond flour, which proved to have a similar texture and flavor to corn-based products. She brought her novel tortillas to the CrossFit Gym that her family owned in Laredo, Texas, and it didn’t take long for gym goers to offer to pay for a whole pack. With the help of her mother and sister, Veronica turned her hobby into a side hustle, hand-pressing and selling hundreds of almond flour tortillas each week.

Related: How to Heat Tortillas, Whether Homemade or Store-Bought

Her brother Miguel watched the operation grow and encouraged the family to start thinking of turning it into a true business. “I remember Miguel telling me to take the risk,” says Veronica. “If I didn’t, one day I would see somebody put that exact same product out on the shelf, and I would be so upset with myself for not doing it [first].”

In 2014, Veronica and Miguel pooled $1,000 of their personal funds to rent out a commercial kitchen. By 2015, their almond tortillas hit Whole Foods’ shelves. They named their company Siete Family Foods — siete representing the seven members of the Garza family, who are now all full-time employees of the company.

The Garzas now live in Austin, where they work from the Siete headquarters (which includes a CrossFit gym on-site). As of 2024, Siete Family Foods products are available at more than 37,000 retailers and restaurants nationwide, and the company is set to hit a half a billion dollars in sales. In addition to their signature almond flour tortillas, Siete now sells 85 products and counting, including chips, salsas, hot sauces, cookies, canned beans, and seasonings. Siete is especially skilled at meeting their consumers’ needs in real time — that’s what led them to produce their cassava tortilla chips, catapulting those to success as well.

Before Siete, a national Mexican American food brand offering certified gluten- and dairy-free products didn’t exist. Aside from meeting dietary needs and preferences without sacrificing flavor, consumers have responded to Siete’s authenticity. This isn’t a corporate conglomerate leveraging Latino culture for branding; it’s a family-led company committed to making products that honor the family members’ Mexican and American heritage.

Related: The 10 Best Gluten-Free Pastas, According to Chefs

A core part of Siete’s business is the Juntos Fund, a grant program earmarked for Latinx-owned businesses. (Juntos means “together.”) Since 2021, Siete Family Foods has distributed $265,000 in no-strings-attached funds to 14 entrepreneurs across the nation, and they’ve committed to distributing $2 million more over the next five years.

“When we were starting out, it was difficult to find other Latinos in the food industry to look to as examples,” says Veronica. “What helped immensely was that my family built Siete together. We created our Siete Juntos Fund in the spirit of togetherness — to empower Latino entrepreneurship and help others in our community build their business. When one of us succeeds, we all succeed.” (The Juntos Fund is now accepting submissions for 2024 Juntos Fund; apply here.)

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