We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Luz Ariza. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Luz below.
Luz, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
El Arka’s mission is to share the taste of the Colombian kitchen from the point of view of the multiple flavors that exist in each culture. I firmly believe that when we’re talking food, there are two different mentalities. The first is one that has a predisposed expectation of certain flavors and expects all foods to fit into a mold of “This should taste like…”. The second mentality is one that not many people practice, and it is that of being open to trying and then describing; knowing that new and different ways of making food exist and that new flavors exist to make and enjoy. In summary, I think there is a waiting market for every product, including the typical foods of each country. That’s what marks the reason of being El Arka. Making way and motivating new generations to establish their unique ideas amid a world full of formats that put a roof up with the purpose of limiting the development of what God placed in each and every one of us.
Luz, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
A couple years ago, I got the idea to start a Colombian empanada business. Inspired by the delicious ones that my husband and I would buy in my hometown Bogota, Colombia many years ago. We’d get them every time we would go to the movies when we were dating. They were our favorite, and they perfectly complemented our plan to go watch a movie after work at the trendiest movie theater. So, right before the COVID-19 pandemic, I started to make empanadas and sold them among close friends and community. Right after the pandemic, in 2021, I received what we call in my Christian community, a Rhema word (which is an instruction from God) to build El Arka. It would be a business that would not only carry that name but also become a platform to leave to my family and help young adults who, upon finishing high school, couldn’t further their education due to limited resources, especially if they weren’t born in the United States. We launched the website and opened the online sales forum, and in 2023 we got involved with local farmer’s markets, which has helped us build a market and community of clientele. Our community, clients, and followers through social media have helped us establish what El Arka Colombian Cuisine is today.
It hasn’t been an easy road, as the food industry is home to unique food prototypes from every culture, and at first, it seemed like we were doing something thousands had already thought of. For that reason, we’ve met people who think, “Empanadas are always empanadas…” Today, El Arka isn’t just about empanadas. We’ve also expanded our menu to include Colombian snacks, and we also offer Colombian bakery items, snacks, and the popular “corrientazo,” which we call the “electric bowl.” This has opened the opportunity for us to work more formally in catering for corporate and social events. We are currently in the process of building and refurbishing the storefront for El Arka.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I think it’s very important to understand what it means to build/establish. To me, it means process, time, and consistency. It’s important to understand that there will be moments of total market silence and even moments of “failure,” because that’s how a model can be corrected and perfected. In the case of El Arka, we’ve gone through several of these processes and we continue to build. There’s no reputation without an audience, without clients. So I think it’s important to know that one bad review is just as important as seven good reviews, because both help you grow and decide if you’re going to stay, despite how good or bad people think you’ve done.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I believe that even the bad is always the raw material for building the good, and that also happens in business. The pandemic affected many areas of everyone’s life worldwide, but it also served as the foundation for many new ideas and the definitive explosion in the use of social media. In my process with El Arka, my children have been very important, as I have been able to find in them a window into how social media management can be more impactful. I love designing and creating logos and posts, and making crafts has always been present in some way in the way I raise my children. Today, using that foundation and what they are, my daughter is a professional dancer and has started her design and printing business, and my son studies music production and is passionate about photography and video. So, from them, I have learned that when it comes to social media, the most natural and authentic is what will capture the public’s attention the most. They manage much of El Arka’s social media.
My advice for those just starting out or who have tried to build a presence on social media is to keep in mind that the more your audience can interact with you, the more your reach will grow. We’re currently preparing to relaunch El Arka’s image and connect with new audiences, knowing that there will always be a human being on the other end who has a personality and is searching for something, and that will lead them to express their feelings about what you’re posting on social media. Use this to improve and continue reaching new markets.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://empanadaselarka.square.site
- Instagram: @empanadaaselarka
- Facebook: empanadaselarka
