In a recent competition that featured more than 370 businesses, Tozi Superfoods emerged victorious, claiming first place in H-E-B’s Quest for Texas Best on September 25. The brand, co-founded by sisters Rocío León and Dr. Maria León-Camarena, specializes in blue corn and amaranth tortillas and totopos, aiming to provide healthy and accessible Mexican food options.
As the winners, the sisters received a prize of $25,000 and secured a spot for their products on H-E-B shelves, adding the grocery giant to their already impressive list of 29 distributors, which includes Royal Blue Groceries and various local restaurants.
Rocío León expressed her excitement about the win: “It’s something I’ve dreamed of since starting the brand,” she said. “When I was hustling in 100 degrees at the farmers market last summer, I would just picture getting to walk into a nice, cool grocery store and see my product.”
H-E-B allocated a total of $110,000 to five locally-made products selected from the competition, in addition to offering shelf placement opportunities.
Dr. León-Camarena emphasized Tozi’s mission to fill a gap in the market: “Teaching people how to eat and diet is one thing, but is the availability there?” she questioned. “Not everyone, unfortunately, can go buy fresh produce every single day. So being able to provide a product that can combine both those things is great.”
Rocío founded Tozi Superfoods over a year ago, inspired by her inheritance of the family ranch, which motivated her to create a business that connects her family legacy with an appreciation for their heritage.
“We’ve always been into healthy eating and authentic ancestral Mexican food, because we would spend all of our summers on our ranch in Mexico when we were growing up,” Rocío shared.
Tozi Superfoods is not just a family business; it relies on teamwork. Rocío manages day-to-day operations alongside her fiancé, Charlie Edwards, while Dr. León-Camarena focuses on diet and nutrition, and their mother, Bertha León, oversees recipe creation.
Priya Kumar, an operations management lecturer and business owner, has played a vital role in guiding Rocío through business decisions. Kumar remarked on the challenges many businesses face due to a lack of understanding of logistics and financial management.
“(Rocío) and I have had discussions about how she’s managing logistics and I can tell that she’s brought all of that knowledge into the business, and she’s going to do it right,” Kumar stated. “It’s a perfect story of how academic theoretical knowledge has really come to life as well, in a real scenario where she’s going to benefit the world around her.”
Rocío’s vision extends beyond profit margins. She asserts, “My real purpose in life is not about becoming a millionaire through this business. Obviously, I want to create a profitable business, but the reason I want it to be so profitable is because I get so excited about how much good I can do using the influence and the money from creating a business like this, along with helping people eat healthier.”
image source from：thedailytexan
