“Guess what? I’d had it all wrong,” says
Donna Knopf, founder and owner of Vegetas,
an Arizona company that makes
vegetable-based chips, dips, salsas and
tamales*. “I never knew what Mexican food
was or Hispanic or ethnic food, because I
grew up in the ‘50s and ‘60s, which was all
comfort food.”
Knopf’s Vegetas began about ten years ago,
based on her idea of developing and
marketing a meatless sausage, a grain-based
sausage. The idea did indeed happen and then
the company blossomed. From a staff of one,
1,200 square feet of space and two products
— tamales and the meatless sausages —
Vegetas, today, comprises a staff of twelve
and 4,400 square feet of production space.
The original two products have sprouted to
more than thirty, which also includes fresh
salsas and dips, both savory and fruit, and
several flavors of tortilla chips. And the
distribution of Vegetas products has grown
as well. Once only found within the Phoenix
metro area, Vegetas chips, dips et al. are
now available throughout Arizona, as well as
in California, Nevada, Oregon and
Washington, with other distribution areas
opening soon.
“What we’re doing today is not what I
originally started out doing,” recalls
Knopf. “We’re still doing vegetarian
products; we still have no meat, chicken or
fish in them. I first started out in this
business to do a vegetarian, grain-based
sausage, and up until last year we were
selling it to Pita Jungle and Gentle
Strength Co-op in Tempe. We’ve really done
an about-face. We are doing many more dips,
tamales and, of course, our chips. We’ve
really not had time to do my original
business plan. What I have done is roll with
the punches, be flexible and answer the
needs of the customers we have.”
“Do you have a business background,” I ask.
“No,” says Knopf. “My father was in the
restaurant business. I graduated with a
degree in interior design. I worked for
about 13 years for an architectural design
firm in Chicago, and I quit when I was in my
30s. I came here and still wanted to stay in
design. I’ve always had a love for cooking,
but never thought that was the way to make a
living. I always thought you worked for
somebody.”
Hold the meat, hold the dairy
Though raised on hearty, Midwestern comfort
foods — meat and potatoes and such — Knopf
has chosen a vegetarian lifestyle.
“My reason for being a vegetarian is not for
an ethical reason. I do it for health
purposes,” she states. “I was diagnosed at a
very young age with ulcerated colitis and
being lactose intolerant. In those days —
we’re talking some 40 years ago — there was
not that much knowledge. They never told you
what you could and couldn’t eat. It was sort
by trail and error: You take a glass of milk
and have a stomach cramp; you realize you
shouldn’t be drinking that. It was getting
out of hand and as a last resort someone
told me about a vegetarian diet, which was
macrobiotic.
“I was told at the time that I needed my
colon removed — that was in the middle ‘80s
and not an option for me — and I thought I
should try this. The first meal I sat down
to was brown rice, adzuki beans and steamed
kale, and it was beautiful. I took one bite
and said I don’t think I can do this. There
was this little voice inside of me that said
you don’t have to. You’ll just have to wear
a plastic bag for the rest of your life.
“By the end of the week, I had such
miraculous changes in my body that I thought
I’ll give this a shot. I started out taking
56 pills a day and needing my colon removed.
Within two and a half months, I was on no
medications and, of course, no operation,
and I really started getting involved with
the benefits of eating properly and how food
can change your mood, how food can help you
feel more healthy. That was really what
started my vegetarian cooking and have it be
a real mainstay in my life.”
Recipe
development
Knopf actively develops the recipes for
Vegetas products. She has an extensive
library of cookbooks, which she regularly
reads, and she draws upon her cooking
experiences for development.
“I think that is the most fun part of the
job, coming up with something that I think
will sell,” says Knopf. “I try to develop
recipes that nobody has. Yes, we do a salsa
fresca (fresh salsa) mild, medium and hot,
because everybody calls for that. We do our
black bean salsa with toasted pepitas; we do
a cranberry mango salsa, which really nobody
has come out with, and we do a tropical
pineapple mango salsa.
“Our first salsa was Smokie Chipotle and at
that time, six or seven years ago, people
weren’t using chipotle chiles; they didn’t
know what they were. Our newest is going to
be a pumpkinseed salsa that’s similar to a
salsa verde, but it’s got ground up
pumpkinseeds in it. We’re coming out with a
salsa ranchero, which is, of course, common,
but I’m making it uncommon by soaking the
dried chile peppers in orange juice to give
it a citrus feel. It takes away the
bitterness. It’s sweet but not real sweet.”
After coming up with a recipe for a new
product, Knopf says they like to “live with
it” for a month or two. They make samples
and gather opinions from all of the
employees.
“I’ll give samples to my reps, the people I
come into contact with, even the mailman,”
says Knopf. “You see what they say and then
you have the gut instinct of what you think
it should be. From there, it’s a process of
elimination. We keep doing samples and see
if we can consistently, repeatedly make that
product. Then there’s pricing. Can I get raw
materials at a price that’s in line with
what we can sell it for?”
“Do you have a favorite product?” I ask,
thinking that’s like asking which one of
your children is your favorite.
“My favorite still is the first, original
salsa recipe that we came up with and that’s
Smokie Chipotle. It has no fat in it and it
is a salsa fresca and has chipotle peppers
in it. To this day when I make a cheese
crisp or put it on a tamale, I think to
myself this really isn’t too bad.”
At home off the “range”
We all know the adage about all work and no
play. With that in mind, Knopf does take
breaks from the business. She’s an avid
photographer — she used to photograph her
artwork and the artwork of others — and
loves graphic arts. She designed all of the
labels for the Vegetas products, which she
says was fun, not work. Though her business
does involve cooking, Knopf says she’s
cooking now more at home than in the past.
“I love to cook. And the hobby of recipe
developing still is there for me; there’s
still a passion.” She also has a passion for
music, everything from jazz to instrumentals
to country to Latin. “We have music playing
all the time, especially when we’re
cleaning,” she confirms. “I’ll put Bob
Seager on and before you know it the whole
kitchen is clean.”
How to have staying power
What does it take for a business, any
business to have staying power? Countless
words have been written, seminars given and
videotapes developed on that subject. While
there are no definitive answers, Knopf has
found three that work for her.
“Don’t give up. Be persistent,” she says.
“Yes, there are times when you get defeated
or get depressed about something. If you
take that to heart and then run with it,
then you fail. For me it’s OK. You lick your
wounds. You get up and go to work the next
morning and say how can I solve this problem
rather that saying I give up.
“Be Flexible, roll with the punches,” she
continues. “And the third is that I’ve never
looked at my employees as employees. They
are family. If people are happy where they
work, they’ll come through for you.”
Perhaps the best barometer of a business’
longevity is the passion for that business
by the owner … and maybe a little divine
guidance.
States Knopf: “Did I graduate from a
culinary institute? No, but I still have the
same passion that I think chefs that have
graduated [have]. I’ve gone to the school of
hard knocks — you know trial and error.
Thank God after ten years, I’m still here.”
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