Salsa Del Diablo: From Kitchen Experiments to Commercial Kitchen Standards

Making Utah

Daniel Benites is a flavor magician who has been bringing out-of-this-world salsas, dips, and sauces to Utahans for a decade.
After moving to Utah, Daniel was underwhelmed by the salsas he found at restaurants and grocery stores. They were too sweet and didn't have the right flavor balance he was looking for.
So, Daniel started experimenting in his kitchen, and decided to bring his creations to local farmer's markets. They were an immediate hit. At the time, he didn't realize he'd one day be selling in stores like Whole Foods, Harmon's, and more with dozens of recipes, from queso to pesto. Now, Salsa Del Diablo is always one of the busiest stands at the Salt Lake Farmer's Market and is a market sponsor. Their customers not only appreciate how delicious each of their products is, but that Daniel prioritizes sourcing ingredients locally as often as possible.
However, when Salsa Del Diablo started to take off, transitioning from small batches to large batches didn't come without challenges. Learning Good Manufacturing Practices was a big learning curve that made Daniel question if he wanted to continue.
In this episode, Daniel talks about growing into a leader that could hand over his recipes to a capable team, build processes, and dive into the regulatory world, so more people could enjoy his products.
Follow iMpact Utah on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.