Meet Johna | Co Business owner of a Spicy Condiment Line: Cuatro Mamás

We had the good fortune of connecting with Johna and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Johna, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The story of our business began serendipitously. We, four mothers, met at our children’s school in the heart of LA’s Mt. Washington neighborhood. Our children were in the same grades, and we quickly connected through playdates and social gatherings. Lawren and I, for instance, met in the valet line and, while we didn’t immediately click, we’re now the closest of friends.

In 2020 during covid, we stayed connected through virtual themed dinners, bonding over our shared love of cooking and trying each other’s dishes. When travel felt safe again in 2021, we took a trip to Sayulita, Mexico, where our passion for flavorful, spicy food was further ignited.

The following year, during Nancy’s 50th birthday celebration in the Joshua Treet, Rosie gifted me a bottle of salsa macha from Tijuana. Lawren and I jokingly fought over it, and Rosie, amused by us, said “instead of arguing about it let’s make it ouselves”

And so, our culinary adventure began. The four of us started researching and developing our own salsa macha recipe. We’d meet at each other’s homes, enjoying tequila, laughing, and dancing in the kitchen as we experimented. What started as a fun hobby eventually turned into something more – after much trial and error, we perfected our recipe and started selling online and to retailers in Southern California and beyond.

What should our readers know about your business?
We believe what distinguishes us from other condiment businesses is our diverse story. Our heritage, our career paths, and our shared experiences translate into our product. We all come from different backgrounds. I’m Filipino, Rosie is Mexican, Nancy is Guatemalan and Lawren is from the South. We have blended ingredients from our different cultures and created a salsa macha meets a chili crisp; A MACHA CRISP that has set us apart from other chili crisps lines that are either asian or hispanic influenced, we are both.

I’m Filipina a “Chola” lover of spice, the spicier the better. I come from a working-class family in California’s San Joaquin Valley. My parents immigrated from the Philippines in the 1930s and 60s, working the fields to provide my sisters and me with a better life. My dad owned a food truck for a short time and he would sell his food to his fellow farm workers. They instilled in us the values of hard work and kindness. Like many Filipino families, they often opened their home to share traditional Filipino dishes with family, neighbors, and friends. I moved to Los Angeles at 19 and have worked in various fields since, including visual merchandising, buying, and managing a high-end jewelry design studio. After 25 years, I felt my creative side was being suppressed. My love for hosting, cooking, baking, and creating memorable gatherings led me to start my floral design business @BlushFlora in 2020.

Rosie the main “Chola” who likes it spicy too grew up in Los Angeles. Her parents migrated from Mexico in the early 1970s and raised her and her five sisters in Cypress Park and Highland Park. She, too, was taught the importance of hard work from a young age. Her family would travel back and forth to Mexico, and as a young girl, Rosie began working in the spice markets, handling transactions for her uncle’s business. She would work in the mornings and attend school in the afternoons. As an adult, Rosie has worked in the apparel industry for many years, gaining experience in pattern making, sewing, and production. She eventually started her own women’s apparel line, @LinaRose.

Nancy a “Gringa” who loves it not too spicy, was born and raised in Los Angeles. Her parents migrated from Guatemala in the 1960s. Guatemalan culture was never very far from their home. Whether preparing traditional foods in the kitchen of their North Hollywood Home, or traveling to Guatemala each Christmas to be with extended family. Nancy’s pride in her heritage continued throughout her work as a young Latina activist, and as a young adult her career has centered in the nonprofit sector, working in Development and Event Planning for several organizations and is the Associate Director at the Pasadena Senior Center.

Lawren, our “Gringa,” was born and raised in Mississippi, along with her two sisters. She grew up enjoying traditional Southern dishes prepared by her grandmother and mother and to this day cooks those same dishes for her family and friends. She moved to Los Angeles in the 1990s, where she followed her passion for fashion. Finding her way into some celebrity filled sets. Lawren, has been a celebrity stylist for over 25 years and co-owns a luxury leather boot line called @Partlow with her sister Kasey.

The common thread that binds us is our upbringing, our work ethics, our entrepreneurial spirit and our LA stories. We were all raised to believe that with hard work, discipline, and a vision, anything is possible. While we each have our own businesses and areas of expertise, starting a food condiment business was a new venture for us. There have been many trials, errors, and bumps along the way, but we have overcome them together. Like the time a cottage license wasn’t an option for us and renting a commercial kitchen was beyond our budget. Nancy works at the Pasadena Senior Center and she brought to our attention that the kitchen can be rented for commercial use that was within our budget. We’ve learned that nothing happens overnight and that businesses take time and 150% effort from all parties.

One of the challenges we continue to face is finding a co-packer that can produce small batches. As an oil-based company, there aren’t many co-packers out there that take on small batches, and the ones we have found are quite costly. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack. We are self-funded, and if we had an investor, the challenges wouldn’t be as difficult. Growing our business is still a work in progress, and we’ll let you know when we overcome those challenges because we are determined to succeed. We have learned as a small, woman-owned business that success requires continuous dedication. Even when tired from our other jobs, and our personal lives we are all dedicated to putting in the time to make Cuatro Mamas a household name.

We want to continue spreading our love of spice to the world and expand our offerings. We are all Gen X women with an entrepreneurial spirit. We were raised during a time when you started working at a young age, showed up on time, and rolled up your sleeves. We were all inspired to do something that we knew nothing about. Conquer our fears and accept the challenge. We want to build a successful business as four moms at the second stage of life, leaving a legacy behind for our children. We want to teach our kids that with hard work and dedication anything is possible even going into business with your best girlfriends. We pride ourselves for being authentic and real. Our true LA story of how we met and how our company organically came about is how we connect with our customers. The real friendships, the hardships, the connections we’ve made. Our branding; the clipart on our bottles that were designed by Lawren’s husband Jesse. each have a meaning, those are the things we are most proud of and it translates when we tell our story. We are proud of showcasing our Macha Chili Crisp for the first time in 2024 at the Fancy Food Show in New York City, it’s considered to be the Super Bowl of all Food shows. We value feedback from our customers and have made some minor adjustments that we will be introducing soon and showcasing as an exhibitor again at the show. Stay tuned.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If our closest friends were visiting LA, we’d definitely want to show them the best of our NELA neighborhood – Mt. Washington and Highland Park. We all live and own homes here since the 90’s and 2000’s and it’s been amazing to see how much it’s grown. We’d need a whole weekend to fit it all in!

We would start with a morning hike in Mt. Washington or a Pilates class at Made by Pilates. Then, we’d grab coffee at Little Ripper or Civil Coffee in Glassell Park or Highland Park, and pair it with pastries from Fondry, a bagel from Cafe 1802, or burritos from Highly Likely or Chilaquiles from Gloria’s if they’re really hungry.

Next, we could do some thrifting on Figueroa and explore Highland Park, with stops at Dotter and Short Hand for shopping. Lunch would be a Reuben from Belle’s, a burger from Goldburger, a tuna sandwich from Bub’s and Grandma’s, or an acai bowl from Berry Bowl. And of course, we’d have to take them to our favorite grocery and snack spots: Carla’s, La Tropicana, and Cookbook markets.

To cap off the weekend, we’d treat them to a culinary experience at our favorite restaurant, Dunsmor and have a cocktail at Arroyo or go dancing at the little speak easy Blind Barber. For us our lives are centered around food. Can you tell with how we would spend a weekend? We’d fit in a trip to the beach…. But going to the westside can be a pain. Let’s be honest, we’d stay east.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We want to thank Sarah Masoni from Oregon State, Food Innovation Center. We want to express our sincere gratitude for her invaluable assistance during the early stages of establishing Cuatro Mamas. Her expertise and guidance were absolutely crucial to getting our business up and running. We truly appreciate the integral role she played in getting us started.

We’d also like to shout out Ariel from Carla’s Market and Heather from Botanica, both women own small businesses here in SOCAL. Thank you for your continuous support and for being the first two LA locations that believed in us and stocked Cuatro Mama’s on your retail shelves since the beginning.

Website: https://www.cuatromamas.com

Instagram: @cuatromamas

Twitter: @cuatromamas

Facebook: Cuatro Mamas

Image Credits
Pilar ValTierra
Katherine Sheehan
Olivia Poli