Today we’d like to introduce you to Emmanuel Casasola.
Hi Emmanuel , please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Puro Tepache was co-founded by Emmanuel Casasola and Kevin Rodriguez in January of 2024. In the summer of 2023, Emmanuel and his wife were going through IVF to grow their family. Emmanuel’s wife had seen online that pineapple was eaten by women going through IVF for its anti-inflammatory properties and started consuming it while going through egg retrieval and implantation. Emmanuel, who works with Kevin at their full time job, mentioned this to Kevin and joked that he should learn how to make Tepache. Kevin was not familiar with Tepache and so they began to talk about it. Kevin, being the inquisitive person he is, decided to embark on the process of making home-made Tepache. After several batches and several failed runs, the two applied their background in food science, good manufacturing practices, and quality assurance to pin point the best way to make a consistent and great tasting Tepache. They attended an entrepreneur bootcamp in October, hosted at Geekdom, and Puro Tepache was born. From that point on, it has been a trial and error type of business with regards to expanding operation. At first, it was only sold in farmer’s markets on tap. However, the feedback was that people wanted to take it home. They started to research co-packing options but could not find one that met their need as the minimum order from co-packers was too high. Kevin and Emmanuel decided to purchase their own filling equipment to be able to produce the best Tepache on the market in the US. Now at 10 locations, we are looking to expand operation again and begin distributing throughout all of Texas.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been a FAST venture but there have been struggles along the way. The biggest struggle is the education necessary to be able to speak to consumers about Tepache. We find that people are intrigued given the probiotic nature of the soda, but without a reference for what it is, some are hesitant to try it. This was evident when some of our first locations to sell the product did not do so well. Their establishments did not know how to describe the product nor did people know what it was. We have had to create marketing material to be displayed as well as create awareness on social media. The velocity of the business though has been remarkable. We took a 3 year business plan and condensed it into 12-18 months with what we have accomplished. We have also had several people confidently put money into the business to allow it to grow. It’s been a labor of love as Kevin and I still maintain our 9-5 careers since we work for a local non-profit. Our next challenge will definitely be how to grow this business effectively at a scale where we can distribute across Texas.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Full time, both Kevin and I work in the Global Quality department at BioBridge Global who operate South Texas Blood and Tissue. This connection to community really inspires how Puro Tepache does business. We don’t see this as a business that is to make money. We have a mission to uplift our community through the power of their food and beverage. We want to connect with other small businesses and help them grow. We want to do business better and be a company that invests in the community. We have sponsored or donated to local non-profits and will continue to do so as we grow to make a bigger impact locally.
How do you think about happiness?
What makes me happy is our connection with people and our connection with family. Kevin and I both have young families and we really value our time with them. I take my family to farmer’s markets and know that I am creating some core memories for my sons. What I love to hear when people try our product is their own connection. It is not unusual to hear people tell us a sweet story about how a grandmother or aunt would make tepache at their house and their memory behind it. Food and beverages can unlock certain sentiments in the brain and I love to hear every story. Connections made in each drink is something we live for!
Pricing:
- $4-$5 per unit of our Tepache Traditional
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.purotepache.com
- Instagram: purotepachellc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1B6Ux6bxw4/?mibextid=wwXIfr
