We recently connected with Michel Polania Sanchez and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Michel , thanks for joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
Ever since my father Jimmy Polania launched La Flor Michoacana Ice Cream Shop in Charlottesville, VA back in 2015, I was always hungry to get into the business some way some how. I had moved here to Denver shortly after the opening of his shop and little did I know it would take about 5.5 years for me to turn a dream into reality. Throughout the years as my father’s business was growing, he was always adamant about me moving back to Virginia to invest in the concept. I seriously considered moving back twice because I didn’t see a real possibility of creating my own concept out here even though that was what I had always desired. How will I get the money I need to launch? How can I do it without my fathers help by my side? What if it doesn’t sell? All these were questions I posed and fear had kept me from pursuing something that I knew deep down was meant for me. Nearly mid 2020 came along and after losing our bartending jobs from covid shutdowns and having enough time to think about things, my old business partner and I realized that we could try something else out on our own. The idea was a simple; duplicate what my father was doing in Virginia and bring it into the Colorado market. The execution on the other hand was much more complex to say the least. Despite having my fathers business model and recipes at our fingertips, there was still so much work that we had to do in order to officially start. Licensing, equipment, commissary kitchen, distribution, capital, financing, target audience, branding, website, social media, ingredient sourcing and of course the most crucial I’d say was learning how make the product in the best way possible. After finally deciding on a name for the business, on March 15th, 2021 Paletas LLC (DBA Chupacabra) was formed and registered in the state of Colorado.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
From a young age, I was always interested in business mainly because of the big influence from my family and originally being from Medellin Antioquia, Colombia where entrepreneurship runs deep in the region. As you all know, I got into the business through the support from my father. I would also like to credit my close family and friends as the have always been a huge support for me. For those that aren’t currently aware about what we do exactly; here is the rundown. We manufacture, wholesale, and distribute 18 flavors of artisan mexican style ice cream popsicles other wise known as paletas. We currently wholesale to 61 locations in Colorado. You can find my branded freezers in locations that include, hispanic meat markets, restaurants, ice cream shops, bakeries, and convenience stores. We also participate in pop up events, caterings, Parker Farmer’s Market, and festivals. We are proud to be using quality ingredients such as fresh dairy, fresh fruit, and pure cane sugar. This is what I believe separates us from the others, the quality in the work our team does in order to create a picture perfect and rich sweet treat. The Chupacabra is a legendary creature that has been rumored to eat farmer’s goats in certain parts of Latin America and the southern region of the U.S. since the 1990s. Chupacabra translates to “the goat sucker.” G.O.A.T is an acronym for the greatest of all time and that is why in my logo you can see the Chupacabra eating the G.O.A.T Popsicle.
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
Yes we manufacture every one of our 18 flavors. We were very fortunate to start in a commissary kitchen in Englewood, CO originally for an affordable deal at the time. 24/7 access, dish washer, cold storage, prep tables, and the most important part was a permanent space for our popsicle machine. My father had flown out from Virginia to help us get started as we were launching the business. 2.5 years into ice cream making has taught me a lot about how to turn nothing into something. I wont go in to too much detail, however, what it comes down to essentially is how to master the craft of making a premium artisan product in the most efficient way possible. I’m proud to say that we are averaging about 4,500 popsicles a week being made in these hot summer months.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
I’d be lying if I said that this has been easy. Since Chupacabra’s inception i’ve worked at multiple restaurants bartending and serving typically in the colder months in order to stay in business. I am truly thankful for the flexibility and good income the hospitality industry has to offer to anyone with a side hustle. As of April of this year I can say that i’ve been fully self employed and 100% devoted to making my business run as a single member LLC. Whatever the case may be in anything your passionate about, you can always find a way to make it work no matter the obstacles. This is what it means to be an Entrepreneur.
Contact Info:
- Website: chupacabra303.com
- Instagram: chupacabra_paletas
- Facebook: Chupacabra Paletas