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H-E-B COMPETITION
La Fregona sauce among 10 products competing for spot on shelves
A Bastrop-based business is getting a chance to bring its own taste of Mexico to H-E-B shelves across Texas.
La Fregona, founded by husbandand- wife team Rafael Ayala and Jocelyn Alvarez, was recently named one of 10 finalists in H-E-B’s 13th annual Quest for Texas Best competition. The company’s Mexican Streetcorn Chilito Sauce will compete for a share of $100,000 in prizes and an opportunity to be placed in stores statewide.
“It does feel like all the hard work is paying off,” Ayala said. “It’s also motivating to keep pushing forward.”
La Fregona was selected from a record 978 entries representing more
“We dream big and we gave it a shot.”
— Rafael Ayala than 500 companies across Texas.
For a business that started in the family’s kitchen three years ago, the recognition is a milestone worth celebrating itself, according to the duo.
Ayala and Alvarez started La Fregona after moving to Bastrop from Mexico and finding themselves missing some of the familiar flavors they grew up with.
“When we moved, we were missing home,” Ayala said. “We were missing the taste, the flavors, the dishes we had at home.”
They began experimenting with seasoning and shared results with friends and family. Those familiar taste testers would later encourage the team to sell their product online.
But Ayala said there was another product they had wanted to make from the beginning, a sauce inspired by the chilito traditionally served on Mexican street corn.
The couple spent about three years developing the sauce during trips to Mexico where they visited a variety of street corn vendors before returning home to experiment with their own style and recipe.
The finished product combines five chiles for what Ayala describes as a smoky, tangy and citrusy flavor with a slight sweetness and heat to it. While originally created for street corn, he said the sauce can also be used on just about anything.
“It’s something that we didn’t just want to keep for ourselves, but we wanted to share with more people,” Ayala said.
The company’s name reflects an approach the couple said helped them start the company. In Mexico, calling someone “fregona” describes a person who is highly capable and hardworking.
“That’s kind of the standard that we wanted to hold ourselves to, to be a very fregona company, to be the best,” Ayala said. “We dream big and we gave it a shot.”
La Fregona has primarily sold its products online, and a spot in H-E-B shelves would introduce the brand to a much larger audience.
Since launching Quest for Texas Best in 2014, H-E-B has awarded nearly $2.75 million in prize money, along with opportunities built to help small businesses grow.
“Quest for Texas Best is more than a competition, it is a launchpad for Texas entrepreneurs,” said James Harris, H-E-B senior director of diversity and inclusion and supplier diversity. “H-E-B began as a small business, and we know firsthand how powerful the right opportunity can be.”
