We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily Tapia a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Emily, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?
Prior to the year 2020, I was a bartender part time while pursuing my makeup artist career. Once the unexpected happened (covid), I was left without either one of those jobs. Restaurants were closed and no one was needing their makeup done anymore. I felt so lost! That was until I came up with the idea to try bringing the restaurants to people instead. One thing I loved to specialize in as a bartender was Micheladas. So in an attempt to make this lockdown more fun, and of course for extra income, I decided to make a bottled Michelada mix that others can purchase and have at home. I had a backyard grand opening where people were able to purchase in person, as a grab and go, and it was a great turn out! Friends, family and even strangers showed up and I sold out of everything! After this grand opening, I received several messages complimenting the flavor in my items. That sparked something in me that forever changed. I knew that even though this was a male dominated field, there was room for someone like me. I knew that as long as I stayed authentic to who I am, continued to give the best quality, and have “thick skin” as they say, I would be okay. Fast forward 4 years later, I have not only grew my menu, but I’ve also hosted fun events like bar crawls, sip and paints and more, all while having my products on the menu at these establishments I’ve hosted at, with the purpose of continuing to show them to new audiences. Because I worked at bars and restaurants prior to this business venture, it was an easy transition to host events like this. My past experience taught me two important things- how to make connections with restaurant and bar owners, and what peoples idea of having fun is. I implement that when hosting these events. Best of all is, I also implement my makeup skills by dressing up, doing my makeup, and feeling pretty to these fun events I host to not only target the woman audience, but to show that women can be girly and succeed in this male dominated field. It’s definitely been a full circle moment.
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.
My name is Emily, I am from South Central Los Angeles and I grew up, in my opinion, in your average Mexican-American household. We listened to music such as Vicente Fernandez to Brenton Wood. We ate things like your basic hot dogs to full plates of enchiladas with beans and rice. My parents were also born in Los Angeles which was very different for me in comparison to the other Latina friends that I had. Most of my friends parents were born in other countries which sometimes made me grow up thinking I wasn’t Latina enough. Because I spoke in English to my parents or because I did resonate more to “American culture” than my friends, it made me feel less Latina then them. Although I would be considered to be more “Americanized” than my friends, I still loved a lot of things most Mexican born people or children of Mexican born people did such as seafood, spicy food, and of course Micheladas. As a kid, I often visited family in Ensenada, Mexico and even as an adult I loved going. My favorite thing when visiting as an adult would be going to “La Bufadora” (which is a tourist attraction there) and having a Michelada while shopping. It was almost as if my love for Micheladas was how I felt closest to being Mexican. That may sound stereotypical for some, but for someone who grew up being told that I wasn’t Latina enough, I felt relatable to Mexican culture when I shared my love for Micheladas. When I was a bartender, I was known for making the best Micheladas there. I would have customers show up and specifically ask for me to make them one. I loved being able to share a part of my culture. A culture that my dad always implemented in me to be proud of despite what others may say. My dads parents were born in Sinaloa, Mexico and seafood and Micheladas are also very popular there. When I learned that Micheladas were simply a part of my culture from both my moms and dads side, it made sense why I loved them and made some pretty great ones. It also made sense for me to name my business after my last name “Tapia”, to represent my culture. For family parties, I would volunteer myself to make Micheladas for everyone and that is what eventually allowed me have the thought of selling a bottled mix version for what is now known as “Tapia’s Fuego”. This is such a saturated business, even more now than when I first started, so I knew I had to do and be something different from competitors. I thought to myself “how can I create fun and safe spaces for people, while trying my products”? That was when I hosted my first event “Crudas with your Chulas”. In english, “Cruda” mean hangover, and something that’s popular for curing a hangover is a Michelada. I hosted this event at a restaurant with a DJ, a photo booth and of course my products on the menu. Everyone had such a great time and I continued to host events similar. Since then, I have hosted bar crawls, sip and paints, Dodger watch parties, Galentines events and more. I’ve always been considered to be someone who is outgoing, “life of the party”, and fun. I knew showcasing that in the events I host would resonate well and I’m grateful that it has.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Nowadays, starting a business means being a content creator too. Like anything else, practicing at any particular thing will allow you to get better. When I first started Tapia’s Fuego, I was not the best at social media. I rarely posted, I wasn’t up to date with trends, I didn’t even know how to edit. What I did was, I studied the videos I enjoyed watching. I would make note of the things that kept my attention and what I further wanted to see. For example, if I saw someone post about making a cake, I would think “hmm, if they would’ve shown this angle, or if it would’ve been more detailed on this, it would’ve been more engaging”. Then when I make a video, I keep those things into consideration and implement my notes on what I post. In summary, post the things you enjoy watching and your audience will come. If you scroll all the way down on Tapia’s Fuego’s Instagram, you will see how drastically different the quality is to now. With each post and video, I continued to get better. I was realizing which videos was getting more attention and it was always the ones that had voiceovers. I think it allowed people to feel more connected to the brand. I would consider myself to be a Chicana, and some will say I demonstrate that in my voice. A Chicana is an American woman or girl of Mexican origin or descent. Because the industry that I’m in has such a huge Chicana and Chinano audience, I possibly grabbed the attention of the listeners with my voice but the authenticity made them stay. Continuing to be myself and providing the best quality eventually lead to a video going viral. Since then, I’ve had a few videos go viral or simply do well because I’ve been consistent with posting. It isn’t easy and it can be overwhelming, but posting on social media is the best way I’ve been able to connect to a large audience. Something people will never be able to take away from you is being yourself. And being yourself will bring you the right audience.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
Since the beginning of Tapia’s Fuego in 2020, I have joined pop up night markets. These markets have brought me new clients each time. In 2021, I would join pop up markets at least 1-2 times a week. It was definitely exhausting, but at the time, it was my only stream of making sales. Today, I have a website and a couple locations I sell our products at, but for a new business like mine, pop ups/ night markets are the best way to go to form a loyal clientele. In 2021, I was also fortunate enough with the opportunity to have my Micheladas (with beer) available during the pop up market I would sell at, since it took place at a restaurant parking lot. The restaurant would purchase my Michelada mix to sell them with beer to the customers that were shopping. They also hired me as their bartender to be the one serving the Micheladas as well as other drinks on the menu that featured my products. It was a perfect and ideal situation for me because I was able to legally sell my Micheladas with actual beer, and for them they had an experienced bartender. I worked the bar and my sister worked the booth that offered the products alone. It was a huge way for me to promote my products and gain clientele. From 2022-now, I still join the same market (Angel City Market) and create new relationships with clients every time. I don’t bartend in that same way anymore, however, I have expanded into a mobile bar service where I showcase my bartending experience with my delicious products in one. I also have loyal clientele that follows me in any city I go to sell, hires me for their events, or even joins some of the events I host. The pop ups is what has allowed me to make the most personable experience with my clients and when the customer experiences great customer service along with great quality, they will be back. That was something I learned fast and try to always keep in mind.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tapiasfuego.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tapiasfuego/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100059728181814
- Linkedin: n/a
- Twitter: n/a
- Youtube: n/a
- Yelp: n/a
- Soundcloud: n/a
