10 months ago
30
HANFORD, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - From humble beginnings successful Hanford California, to becoming the archetypal Latina to rise a cardinal dollars successful capital, Kayla Castaneda is nary alien to hard enactment and perseverance.
"Growing up successful Hanford, I learned that you conscionable request to beryllium scrappy and innovative to marque thing travel to life, right? And it doesn't substance wherever you're from. If you person that endowment successful that drive, you tin marque it happen,” said Castaneda.
As a child, Castaneda had large dreams, on with an entrepreneurial spirit, and at just 18 years aged she near her hometown and moved to New York.
It was a determination that gave her assurance portion she learned astir the nutrient and beverage business.
Both her upbringing successful Hanford and her clip successful New York influenced her ain marque called “Agua Bonita” which she says is simply a accepted Mexican beverage but with a healthier twist.
"It's an all-natural drink," said Castaneda. "Honestly, if you've ever had an agua fresca, you cognize it tin beryllium overwhelmingly sweet. We conscionable crook that down but inactive person 100% of that flavor."
The drinks travel successful 4 flavors that are not lone amended for people's wellness but besides for the environment. By utilizing 65% of alleged "ugly" fruit, oregon effect that's incapable to beryllium sold successful stores due to the fact that of blemishes.
It's the effect that different would person gone to waste, thing she saw excessively overmuch of increasing up with her grandparents who were migrant workplace workers.
In fact, it was her Grandfather who inspired her business, and in July 2020, she launched Agua Bonita. But it wasn't until a twelvemonth aboriginal that her Agua Bonita cans deed the shelves.
"I was fulfilling orders done my garage. My household was conscionable helping maine battalion cans. So it took a portion to truly spot them retired successful the wild," said Castaneda. "And erstwhile we archetypal got our archetypal retail account, which was similar a tiny mom-and-pop store really successful San Diego, we drove down determination to spot everything and instrumentality the pictures and person each the blessed tears due to the fact that it was conscionable specified a immense milestone to spell from thing made successful Hanford and past extending to different parts of the authorities and present each implicit the country."
Agua Bonita is present in Whole Foods, select Target locations successful California with Walmart connected committee adjacent spring.
She says it's a large milestone that volition besides enactment Hanford connected the map.
"We've accomplished thing precise large and are bringing a spotlight to the endowment that we person successful the vale and the endowment that determination is successful towns similar Hanford California," said Castaneda. "Not everything needs to hap successful LA oregon New York oregon San Francisco.”
Even erstwhile it gets tough, she inspires Latinas to instrumentality the leap and commencement their ain business, reminding them thing is retired of reach.
