Makin’ la salsa local at BrenTari Foods of Missoula

Couple perfects recipe, and now it’s a hot seller

Business is hot for Missoula entrepreneurs Brent and Tari Colbry, makers of Natural Creations Salsa.

The small business, born from a recipe Brent perfected in his kitchen over the last 13 years, grew steadily – then rapidly – over the past several months.

By JILL FITZSIMMONS for the Missoulian

http://missoulian.com/articles/2004/07/19/business/bus01.txt

The Colbrys, owners of BrenTari Foods http://www.brentarifoods.com , began marketing their salsa only eight months ago. At that time, they were selling 40 pounds of salsa a week. Today, they spend three nights a week in a commercial kitchen in Lolo, chopping, mixing and packaging 400 pounds of the salsa.

The business has all the signs of becoming something much bigger than a mom-and-pop operation, said Brent, who’s also the vice president of commercial lending at Missoula Federal Credit Union.

With interest growing in their salsa, the couple is looking to build a production facility in the near future. They also are talking with several national retailers about selling the salsa not only locally but also regionally, Brent said.

They’ve learned in the last several months that dreams of owning a business are attainable as long as you’re smart about growth and don’t stray from your goals.

"The dream of having your own little thing is pretty attainable if it is the right product mix," Brent said.

The Colbrys aren’t onto anything new. Many people each year try to market a favorite family recipe, said Larry Williams, fund manager for Montana Community Development Corp. in Missoula.

The salsa competition is also hot on the national level. A low-fat, low-carb food, salsa is now ahead of ketchup as the No. 1 condiment in American homes.

What decides whether a new business such as BrenTari Foods will succeed is whether a small operation is able to control that growth and advance smartly, said Williams, who counsels small business owners. Many businesses fail because of poor planning, he said.

Williams, who has counseled the Colbrys and tried their salsa ("It was wonderful," he reports), said he expects this company will flourish. Brent and Tari started by taking their product around to different cafes and businesses in town. They were smart about their approach and have been realistic in their expectations, Williams said.

"I think they will succeed," he said.

Natural Creations Salsa has a clean, crisp flavor. It leaves no oils on the tongue, and no one flavor is overpowering. Instead, the flavors meld together.

The salsa is more than a chip dip, the couple said. They have used it for years on salmon, in chili, in brown rice and in numerous other recipes. Some of those recipes are available at http://www.brentarifoods.com.

The Colbrys make a medium and hot salsa and soon will be selling an extra hot salsa and a zesty relish. True to the name, the salsa is made from natural ingredients – tomatoes, onions, peppers and seasonings. There are no preservatives in the salsa, which has a shelf life of about four weeks.

"I don’t want it to have the shelf life of a Twinkie," Tari said.

Why will people like this salsa?

"Because the business idea wasn’t our idea. We’ve been sitting on this recipe for 13 years," Tari said. "So many people have asked us to market it, not just to bring it to a potluck."

The salsa is being sold in area supermarkets, including Tidyman’s, Harvest Foods and Bi-Lo Foods. It’s also served at Wagon Wheel Pizza, Nap’s Grill, Bagels on Broadway, Red’s Bar, Traveler’s Rest Deli in Lolo, Diamond Jim’s and at Mug Shots in the Missoula County Courthouse.

Also among the stores selling the salsa is the Good Food Store. With a "Made in Montana" label, the salsa appeals to the store’s customers because it’s locally made and can be bought in not only 1-pound containers but also in bulk, said Emi Kodama, a buyer for the store. For customers, this means less packaging and fresher salsa, Kodama said.

Sales have been strong with the salsa; each week Kodama finds she’s ordering more. "And it’s never quite enough," she said. "It’s doing really well."

Working with a small, local business such as BrenTari Foods is enjoyable because these businesses are more responsive to the store’s individual needs, Kodama said. The Colbrys also are enthusiastic about their product, she said.

"I’m excited both for them and for us and for our customers that there is this great, new locally produced option," she said.

Tari, 33, and Brent, 34, were born and raised in Montana. Each briefly studied at the University of Montana, where they met. Married 12 years, they’ve lived in Seattle and Las Vegas but returned to Montana more than two years ago to raise their two young sons. The couple shares a love for Mexican cuisine. They’ve made six trips to Mexico and have made their salsa for the people they’ve met there.

"And if they love it, then you know you’re doing something right," Tari said.

Brent is the chef in the household. His wife brags Brent can taste a dish in a restaurant and copy it at home. He’s also been a businessman since he was 15, when he single-handedly ran a dryland farming operation in north central Montana.

Tari, a work-at-home mother with a friendly, outgoing disposition, has been handling much of the marketing. She’s been in the stores, offering free samples to shoppers.

Owning a small business is a dream many Montanans have, Brent said. He knows that every business dreams big. But he also knows that uncontrolled growth can lead to problems, even the demise of a business. So they are growing aggressively, but growing smart, he said.

The couple also wants to take its business a step further and use ingredients grown locally. It may be a small contribution to the state’s economy, but they want to do their part in helping other local businesses grow, Tari said.

"Montana is our home," Brent said. "We want to support Montana and we want our boys to grow up in Montana just knowing what a wonderful place it is."

On the Net

http://www.brentarifoods.com