Check Out Amanda Sanchez’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Sanchez.

Amanda, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My uncle passed away unexpectedly in 2015. He was an avid outdoorsman and loved the mountains and had always wanted to hike the famous John Muir Trail in the Sierras Nevadas in California, but never had the chance. My mom, Christine, called me up and asked me if I would consider embarking with her on a journey to spread his ashes on the glorious trail. I jumped at the opportunity to join as I have always enjoyed the mountains and adventure, but I had no idea how much work I had signed up for.

From planning the logistics, meal planning, and the actual physical training, we realized that this venture would take a huge amount of preparation and collaboration. We opted to split the responsibilities – she would handle the meal planning and I would plan the rest of the trip. For the years to come, we maintained these roles as we continued the tradition of hiking each summer, even after we completed our original goal.

Christine became our local expert on instant ready-made lightweight meals, but it did not happen overnight. It came with years of testing different meals on many backpacking trips and with very picky participants. For one, the meals demanded a high nutritional content to fuel our treks, high-quality ingredients to feel homemade, and a quick and easy rehydration process to cook our meals effectively. Over time, the rice and beans become our favorite meals as they provided all the comforts of homemade food without an actual kitchen in the rugged terrain.

Even after the trips ended, I would keep requesting the rice and beans because I loved being able to take my Mom’s homemade cooking with me wherever I went. I would take them everywhere – from the office to potlucks, and even on road trips. I began to wonder why more people were not interested in freeze-dried food for their day-to-day lives considering how convenient and tasty they could be (when done right)!

I thought that if folks could just understand how incredibly tasting freeze-dried food could be, then they would love it just as much as me. That is when I came up with OLLA; a vision for homemade rice and beans based made with high-quality, highly nutritional ingredients that can be cooked instantly with boiling water.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
While I was very confident in our products and even in our ability to run a business, the biggest struggle I faced was the initial fear of rejection. I was afraid that people would not be open to trying our freeze-dried rice and beans due to the preconceived conceptions of freeze-dried meals being “astronaut food” or just for preppers. I was anxious that people would not be open to our products and would see them as irrelevant or silly.

I knew that I could control the quality of our products and how well our business ran, but I could not completely manage the public’s response and that fact scared me. The road to OLLA has been a leap of faith and has certainly not been smooth, but it has been rewarding as we have received incredible feedback and support from our customers.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I work full-time in the supply chain at a semiconductor company. I manage the backlog for a very large customer, which includes managing the entry and flow of their purchase orders, ship dates, logistics, and anything that could generally go wrong in a massive backlog. I am known for having a great relationship with my customer as I have worked hard to build trust with them over the years.

COVID proved to be the ultimate test of the quality of our relationship as no one anticipated how the global economy and interconnected supply chains would be impacted in the way that they were. This was the ultimate test of the quality of the relationship with my customer and I am proud to say that we came out of that ordeal stronger than ever.

The pandemic not only tested my ability to build rapport with my client but also my ability to work under pressure and in endless unknowns. I am thankful for the experienced I gained in managing a massive backlog through one of the most extraordinary supply chain disruptions in our modern history.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Our products are currently being sold in Farmstand Market and Glover’s Second Hand in Columbia, Tennessee.

Please share this with your friends and family and consider supporting us at these local businesses. Our long-term goal is to be featured in more stores throughout the great state of Tennessee, so please reach out if you would like to sell our products in your store.

Or, you can follow our journey on Instagram @ollafoods.us. Lastly, feel free to tell us what you love or do not love about products! We are open to feedback and enjoy hearing from our customers.

Pricing:

• $6 for each product (Cilantro Lime Rice, Spanish Rice, Pinto Beans, Pinto Beans with Nopales, Black Beans with Red Bell Pepper)
• $5 when purchased in bulk (5+)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ollafoods.us
• Instagram: @ollafoods.us
• Facebook: @ollafoods.us