We recently connected with Benjamin Fuentes and have shared our conversation below.

Benjamin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I grew up in a small, rural Kansas town; with a population of 1000. That community, like many others in Kansas, thrives off of agriculture. My dad immigrated to Kansas from Mexico in the 80s and began working as a cattle producer. From the beginning of Kansas City Foodie Finds, I loved showcasing meat. Kansas City lent itself well to this theme, being the city with the best barbecue around. Over the last few years, I’ve partnered with many beef advocacy groups to promote beef and showcase the amazing people raising and growing our food supply. I’ve been able to sit down with beef producers and not only help them amplify their brand but also taught them best practices for promoting to the average consumer.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

I’ve told my story many times but it is also refreshing when I revisit it. It reminds me of why I got into social media and the marketing power that it has. I was fresh out of college and traveling quite a bit. I found myself in a rut…conference, hotel. a chain restaurant, repeat. I wasn’t taking advantage of getting to travel and explore new cities. I decided I would only eat local and support local when traveling. Through this decision, I discovered that with just a little bit of research it was easy to immerse yourself in a city’s culture. I would land in a city and find a local restaurant through Yelp and from there, everywhere I went was a recommendation from a local. It was the best way of traveling and getting to taste the best food. I started Kansas City Foodie Finds in order to create a one-stop shop experience for someone wanting to get off the beaten path and discover all the amazing food being created in Kansas City.

What started as a hobby quickly turned into a passion. I found myself scouring the city for the best hole-in-the-wall locations. I wanted to meet the chefs, taste the food and enjoy the experiences that our city had to offer. I know many people have eaten at all the restaurants that I have but the only difference was that I wasn’t embarrassed to take out my camera, stand on a chair or take my plate to the window to get the best shot possible. There are amazing chefs in our city and I wanted to do whatever I could to get as many people as I could to try their food and hear their story; because they all have an amazing story to tell.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think one of the main reasons I was able to grow an audience on my social media channels was that I focused on authenticity and positivity. I’m not a food critic. I’m a guy who likes to eat great food with his family and have learned how to take a good picture. I would never give a negative review of someone’s dish or restaurant that they’ve spent a lifetime building. Just because my taste buds didn’t like something, doesn’t mean that hundreds of other people wouldn’t. I focus on sharing what is good and forgetting about the negative. I try to be honest and transparent with the brands and companies that I partner with. I want people to know that, yes, I get paid sometimes but would also never pick a paycheck over losing credibility as a man who knows his food. I’ve turned down several partnerships that were not in line with my brand. That decision, to always stick to my brand, has allowed me to stay true to myself because, in the end, as an influencer, I am my own brand.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I quit my job! My brand was growing and I was seeing success as a restaurant marketer and was landing bigger brand deals. I had reached a point where I could provide for my family and I quit my job on January 30, 2020! That’s right, I quit my job to focus on building a company that specialized in restaurant marketing just before the beginning of a global pandemic. Restaurants were closed. My business was gone. It was catastrophic but minuscule compared to what the rest of the world was going through. My family and I regrouped and were able to land on our feet and we’ve been able to keep Kansas City Foodie Finds alive and growing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.benjaminfuentes.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/kansascityfoodiefinds