(Photo above: (Above Left) Teresa Jordan, (Above Right) Wes Jordan | photos courtesy of Prima Salsa)
Teresa Jordan, production manager and food processor for Prima, says salsa just runs in the family. She explains, “Mexican food has been around all my life, it seemed like salsa was always on the table. My great grandmother made salsa, my grandma and mother made salsa and it was available in the refrigerator on any given day. In particular, Teresa was inspired by her cousin’s recipe, “We raved about Ester’s salsa when we came over to eat, telling her that she should sell it!”
When Teresa moved to Central Oregon in 2003 she says, “I didn’t think I would have a problem finding good Mexican food, let alone good salsa. I remember going to a local restaurant for breakfast and asking for a side of salsa with my omelet. The waitress brought a small cup of salsa for us, I was not impressed. I told my business partner Greg, I can make a better salsa than this!”
Prima started providing salsa products for Central Oregon families in 2012. Marketing and sales manager Greg Overton offers, “A huge thank you to Newport Avenue Market for being our first store. We are all very proud to share our family salsa with the Bend community. We are proud to know people are enjoying our salsa and having it on their shopping list, bringing it home to their families.”
Overton knows families are enjoying their salsa because, “Customers are requesting our salsa by name, we are gaining brand recognition. This rapid sales growth has been such a surprise success to us.” Though he goes on to note, “Some of our challenges are, increasing market share by getting the word out in the community, selecting the best advertising for customer awareness and understanding and applying logistics.”
As the business has grown, Teresa and son, Wes Jordan (delivery and store sampler), stress the importance of consistency and freshness of ingredients to ensure the product will be the same each time a family sits down to enjoy their salsa.
When asked, customers have great things to say about Prima. “It tastes so good, like biting into a Hermiston tomato, love how fresh it tastes, we love the color and it tastes so good I could drink it,” are some of the comments.
Products offered include red salsa in mild, medium, hot and habanero, of which, to date, 25,000 jars have been sold. The team is currently researching flavors for a new salsa product but has not announced what ingredients it might contain.
To get a taste of Prima, look for their salsa at Newport Market, Whole Foods, Lovejoy’s, Natural Grocer’s, Food 4 Less and Ericksons Safeway.
Prima Salsa
www.facebook.com/Prima-Salsa-1566064180272987/
CEO: Teresa Jordon
No. Employees: 3
Year Established: 2012
Product/Service: Salsa
Hot News: New flavor release coming soon.
Outlook for Growth: Very good
