A look back at the people, places and partnerships that helped shape My Grandparents and the foundation we're building on today.
As we begin a new chapter for My Grandparents Jalapeños & Pickles, we're taking a moment to look back at some of the experiences that helped shape our company. Long before our 2026 relaunch, we were building relationships with growers, students, retailers and customers throughout Southern California learning firsthand what it takes to bring a product from the field to the shelf.
These photos capture some of those early chapters. Much has changed since then, but the lessons, relationships and commitment to great food remain part of the foundation we're building on today.
Growing More Than Jalapeños
One of our early partnerships brought us together with the Agricultural Department at Cal Poly Pomona, where students helped grow jalapeños for our products as part of a hands-on agricultural project. We provided selected jalapeño seeds and growing inputs, while students and faculty brought their agricultural knowledge and experience to the field.
The collaboration gave students an opportunity to see another side of agriculture—the journey from growing a crop to creating a finished product for consumers. It's the kind of relationship we valued then and hope to build upon again as we develop new partnerships with agricultural programs and the next generation of growers.
Recognition Beyond Our Local Market
As our products began gaining attention, our Spicy Pickles were selected by Chile Pepper Magazine for a nationwide product review. At the time, spicy pickles were still a relatively uncommon offering, which helped our family recipe stand out in a growing specialty-food market. The exposure introduced My Grandparents to customers well beyond Southern California and resulted in a significant increase in our online sales.
It was one of our first experiences seeing how a product rooted in our family kitchen could connect with customers across the country.
Meeting Customers Face to Face
As our retail presence grew, Costco gave us the opportunity to introduce our jalapeños and pickles directly to its members through week-long sampling events at new locations. Those events became an important part of our early growth, allowing customers to taste our products, meet the people behind the brand, and discover what made our family recipes different. The response helped generate new sales, repeat customers, and a growing following throughout Southern California.
More importantly, those experiences taught us something we still believe today: sometimes the best way to understand our products is simply to taste them.
Taking Our Flavor on the Road
As the brand grew, we took My Grandparents Jalapeños & Pickles beyond Southern California to events such as the Fiery Foods & BBQ Show in Albuquerque, New Mexico, held at the Sandia Resort & Casino. The show gave us an opportunity to introduce our products to specialty-food enthusiasts, retailers, distributors, and others in the industry from across the country.
Our jalapeños also earned first-place recognition in the Jalapeño category during one of our appearances an early validation that our family recipe could stand out well beyond our local market.