Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
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W hen Nazqiz Peruvian Snacks found- er Ronald Flores was a senior at San Francisco State University, he began working on an idea to sell a traditional snack from his native Peru here in the U.S. Ultimately, with the sup- port of one of his college professors, Flores started his company in 2013 and debuted Qancha, a corn snack, one year later at the Winter Fancy Food Show. Flores describes Qancha, made with ancestral Peruvian heir- loom corn, as a healthier, more sophisticated version of a Peruvian snack called cancha. "We have a proprietary cooking technique that helps retain the healthy properties of the special variety of corn we use," he explains. "It retains the crunch without being hard like other corn snacks." Qancha is the first of many South American snacks Flores plans to bring to the U.S. market. "I come from a family of entrepreneurs," he says, "so I have an innate passion for business. Living in San Francisco allowed me to develop a love for food and healthy eating. I also worked in the food business for 10 years while attending school. By creating Nazqiz, I'm able to integrate these passions with a love for my country's rich heritage. More than that, I am able to materialize my vision in a product that is not only healthy and has a rich history, it is also remarkably unique and delicious." Today the three f lavors of Qancha (original, picante, and chimichurri) are sold at 30 stores in the Bay Area and a few online retailers. The San Francisco–based company is focusing on expanding its reach within that region and beyond. Here, Flores asks questions he has as a new business to a panel of industry experts. BY DENISE PURCELL AND SUSAN SEGREST THE PANEL Jeni Britton Bauer Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams Jonathan Milo Leal Milo's Whole World Gourmet Mike Silver Neomonde Baking Company, Inc. PHOTOS: INDIVIDUAL PRODUCERS Cara Figgins Partners, a tasteful choice company PHOTOS: NAZQIZ PERUVIAN SNACKS startup spotlight 140 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com Nazqiz Peruvian Snacks How do I grow my traditional South American snack in the U.S. market? startupSpotlight_nazquiz_summer14.indd 140 6/2/14 2:19 PM