Meet Richard Alexander Martinez | Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Richard Alexander Martinez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Richard, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I started Simply Spice Rubs, LLC. because I had a vision on some new seasoning products that included using freeze-dried fruits powders combined with raw spices…some varieties I came up with were Raspberry Lime Pepper, Citrus Cranberry, Kiwi Wasabi and Banana Bonanza. I pitched the idea to my father who was successfully manages Tampico Spice Company, Inc. based in Los Angeles… long story short, he told me that no one would buy such expensive blends and it wouldn’t sell. After that discussion, I decided to venture out from the family business and create a separate entity were I could creative and combine unusual ingredients together and market it in the e-commerce market.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I originally created Simply Spice Rubs, LLC. because I wanted to fusion freeze-dried ingredients with raw spices… overtime I somehow ended up producing flavored snack powders like Takis Fuego Powder, Nutella Powder, Chocolate De La Rose Powder and etc. How I ended there was that I saw a need in the market since most customers buying seasonings for pita chips, treenuts, popcorn, durros etc. all were buying off the shelve seasonings like lemon pepper, cajun seasoning or bbq seasoning, but often complained about most of the seasoning falling off because of the granulation of the seasoning… I began to create powdered snack flavors that were custom tailored to the customer. The customer would tell me their flavor profile and restrictions, I would go out and buy actual snack that I had to reverse engineer and I would just sit back and break down the flavors until I had a duplicate. There is no machine that can pop in a seasoning mixture and populate the ingredients with the percentages… the best a lab can do is tell you the nutrients and vitamins. Beyond running Simply Spice Rubs, I’m a super food taster. If you give me a mixture, I’m able to break it down and replicate the flavor within 80-90% of the original mixture. I’ve reverse engineered seasoning mixtures for a few well-known firms and restaurants like San Pedro Fish Market which I’m proud of because from my understanding they took their seasoning to a few other spice firms before bringing it to me.

I did have some help getting here, especially being able to study at CPP and work in the same career field that I was studying. With that knowledge and opportunity to expand my horizon on ingredients I was able to make smart decisions in creating Simply Spice Rubs and meeting various clients to make their products turnkey. It was not an easy nor inexpensive road despite have a resource, but I would say for having a career I enjoy doing it is well worth it. My only advice to get past the challenges is to deal with them a day at a time.

My brand and story is that if you have an idea for something, go for it because it is better to run with it then look back and know you missed an opportunity.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I had time for a mini week vacation, I would definitely held over to Korakia in Palm Springs for a few days to enjoy their Mediterranean villas and dip in their salt water pools. I would stay for their breakfast before checking out the tour at the Alexander Estate where Elvis Presley and Priscilla stayed for the honeymoon, thereafter definitely do some walking and shopping in downtown Palm Springs while getting lunch at Farm likely ordering the Filet Migon with garlic mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus and a Riesling. From there, I would see the Palm Springs Art Museum before go back to the resort for a massage and candle light dinner with a movie playing in the background. Am a big museum junkie, so I would make plans to see the Palm Springs Air Museum and Moorten Botanical Garden. After a few days at the Korakia and museum hopping, I would probably look for a unique stay at an Airbnb not the typical home, but something with unique architectural and something off grid with a few amenities like a grill, pool and spa where we could go off-roading and grill during the day while relaxing from all the city noise.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My grandfather and father impacted my decision to study business management and take a few courses in food science at Cal Poly Pomona whereas I was able to immerse myself with fellow peers while attending various food conventions. Without my grandfather and father, I wouldn’t have become a foodie nor been able to had the opportunity to be where I’m today. Beyond that, I would have to thank my wife for giving me encouragement to go expand my entity and helping me in fulfilling the day to day operations.

Website: www.simplyspicerubs.com

Instagram: SimplySpiceRubs

Linkedin: thechilikid

Other: Etsy: https://etsy.com/shop/simplyspicerubs