Miami Culinary Institute Student Builds Mango Mama Salsa Brand
Carmen Ibarra was devastated.
In June of 2020, after three years at her dream job at CSI DMC—an event planning business—she was laid off.
To pass the time, Ibarra started making cooking videos on Instagram and YouTube.
One day, while making mango salsa, Ibarra mixed red peppers, jalapeños, red onions, cilantro, lime, mangoes and accidentally splashed in a dash of Cajun seasoning instead of salt.
The unconventional concoction kick-started a new venture for Ibarra.
Today, the 29-year-old is the owner of Mango Mama Salsa, an upstart company that sells original mango salsa in 10-ounce containers for $12 to $13.
There’s the Spicy Mama (mango salsa with a habanero kick), La Amazonia (a fruit version) and of course the salsa with a cajun kick—the OG Mango Mama. The salsa comes with tortilla chips.
“I love it and I have fun with it,” Ibarra said. “That’s why people are attracted to the brand because it’s coming from a place of pure passion and love.”
For the past year, Ibarra has concentrated on growing her brand. She has participated in festivals—the Mango Days of Summer at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and the Mango Mania Festival at the Casaplanta Garden Center—and does occasional pop-up shops.
She also posts mango-related videos on her Instagram page that has nearly 5,000 followers.
During the spring, Ibarra hosted Mango Mama Mondays at Jaguar Restaurant in Coconut Grove. She works part-time as a line cook at Jaguar and the Peruvian restaurant Itamae in the Miami Design District.
“It’s a lot of fun. We get to cook a lot and meet new people,” said Oscar Del Rivero, the owner of Jaguar Restaurant. “She offers something that I don’t have but also brings in people for the restaurant. So we help each other out. It’s a win-win situation.”
To place an order, customers visit her website and click on the salsa inquiries tab. After an order has been placed, Ibarra contacts customers to arrange their pick-up time and location.
The website also features Mango Mama merch. A $20 white unisex T-shirt with a mango on the pocket, a $20 white adjustable hat with the Mango Mama logo emblazoned on the front and $6 stickers.
Seeing her business take off motivated Ibarra, who has a bachelor’s degree in hospitality from Florida International University, to get a better understanding of the culinary field.
Although she has always had a passion for food—as a child she stood on stools in her family’s kitchen to peel potatoes and she followed the celebrity chefs featured on Food Network—she had no proper training.
So last October, she set out to change that. Ibarra signed up for classes at Miami Dade College’s Miami Culinary Institute to complete a year-long culinary arts management certificate.
At MCI, she is the president of the hospitality and pineapple club. The organization focuses on fostering friendships, cultural understanding and hosting food and beverage seminars. Through it, Ibarra has invited well-known pastry chef Max Santiago to speak about his experiences in the industry.
“I see her entrepreneurial spirit,” said Bernardo Espinel, the chef who taught Ibarra international cuisine during the summer term. “She always came prepared to class and had great ideas on how to make food look more attractive. She has a really likable personality.”
Eventually, she wants to sell her salsa in supermarkets and maybe even host her own cooking show like the ones she grew up watching.
“I realized everything I built in a year and that woke up the entrepreneur in me and made me realize I want to continue building a business and continue learning,” Ibarra said.
