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Meet Lavina Randle of Soulsa by V in Fort Worth

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Lavina Randle affectionately known as V.

V, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started Soulsa by V in July 2011 in my hometown of Kansas City, MO. It started unintentionally to be honest. Myself and my coworkers, at the time, had an immense love for salsa and chips and we would each bring in different flavors and brands of salsa that we shared with one another every Monday. My uncle taught me how to make a quick simple fresh salsa a few years back when he was visiting from CA and though I rarely used it, I remembered how to make it well. One weekend instead of purchasing a jar of salsa, I made some fresh salsa at home and brought it in to work and shared it Monday morning. My coworkers were like “V your salsa is better than the ones we’ve been trying.” They were impressed and I was elated.

The following weekend, I experimented with a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, and came up with like 12 different flavors. I brought them all in to work that Monday and unbeknownst to them, my coworkers participated in my first market research experiment. Based on their feedback I narrowed my product line down to seven flavors and one of my coworkers even gave me the name and concept of my most popular Soulsa flavor, Hotmess. He said, “I just mixed all my salsas together into one hot mess of a monster salsa they were all so good and flavorful.” My coworkers encouraged me to sell my salsa and they continuously would order jars from me. They even helped me come up with the name Soulsa.

Memorial Day weekend I took their advice and I made up 24 jars of my seven different flavors and set up at an outside vending event. This was pre COVID 19 and no social distancing orders were in place, so I also had samples with chips available for people to try before buying. Nearly everyone who tried purchased a jar or two. One guy came by my table 2-3 times tasting different flavors before finally deciding to purchase four jars.

His purchase took me down to my last three jars from the original 24 I started with. After making his selection he asked if I was a vendor at this event every weekend, I said no this was my first time. He asked if I had a business card or a website and unfortunately at the time I did not. He said “Well once these jars run out, how will I contact you to purchase more?”

I gave him my phone number, then I packed up my table, my cooler, and the rest of my jars and samples, rushed home, hopped on my computer, and created my first business card on Vista Print.

The very next day as I was watching the morning news, I saw that Google was in town and they were offering free website hosting for a year to MO business’s as an introduction to the new Google Fiber contract that was coming to the state. That same day I created my first website on my own and from there Soulsa by V just expanded rapidly in the KC area by word of mouth and social media.

Locally, before leaving KC, I was in one small local grocery store, and one local Hispanic restaurant would serve and sell Soulsa by V salsas. Within a few months I had a logo, labels for each Soulsa flavor, was hosting Soulsa happy hour events and tastings all over the KC area. I become a known local vendor at nearly every trade show and event that occurred in the KC area.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The start up and notoriety I gained in my hometown came fairly quickly and was easy to maintain because though it is considered a metroplex, Kansas City is fairly small. Growing up there all my life and knowing lots of people worked to my advantage. Where things became difficult was when I relocated to Dallas in August of 2012 when Soulsa by V was barely 1 year old. In my mind I thought Soulsa by V would do great in TX. It would fit perfectly into the whole Tex Mex blend of foods and restaurants that the state is well known for. And of course, everything in TX is bigger, so naturally, in my mind, Soulsa by V is going to blow up instantly and I’ll become a national brand in no time.

Not so it all. I had not factored in how huge the DFW metroplex is, nor did I realize how diverse and unique each individual city is. With me being basically a delivery service and not having an actual brick and mortar, it became bothersome delivering one or two jars of Soulsa all the way to De Soto and other cities 30-45 mins from Arlington where I lived. I felt like it wasn’t really worth the effort.

I did gain quite a few frequent and repeat customers from my first employer here in Fort Worth, Sprint. But my biggest customer based came from my church family at The Potter’s House of Fort Worth. I remember the very first year Pastor Winfield called us to a Daniel fast, I think it was in 2014 or 2015. I was posting a lot of Soulsa by V pics to my social media and had even made some homemade tortilla chips that were Daniel friendly. Church members begin asking me about it. Once they tasted they were hooked. It was definitely a wrap after my first Lady, Veronica Winfield, order Soulsa by V for a meeting she was hosting at the church one Saturday. I came in, setup my Soulsa table for the attendees to snack on during the meeting, and ended up leaving with orders.

My customer base, while here in DFW, has been primarily coworkers, friends, and church family. I have been invited, on a few different occasions to do The Taste of Dallas, but it has not yet come to fruition based on scheduling conflicts in the past years.

In 2017 Soulsa by V stopped abruptly due to my battle with a terminal illness. By the grace of God, on July 6 2018, I received a transplant, and my battle with terminal illness ended. I have spent the last year and a half adjusting to life post-transplant and figuring out my new normal.

Until COVID-19, that new normal had not included Soulsa by V at all. But my passion for cooking has oftentimes led to me posting pics on social media of food I’ve cooked, cooking live on my social media platforms, hosting dinner parties in my home, and cooking for events.

By way of my social media platforms, so many folks started messaging me and commenting I should start a cooking channel. So, during quarantine, while stuck in the house and in the house bored, I did just that.

I started my cooking channel, Cooking with V TV on YouTube a little bit over a month and a half ago. I’m your favorite home cook and host Chefboyar_V. Every Monday evening, I go live on my social media platforms. Either I cook alone in my kitchen, with one of my friends in my kitchen in-person, or with a friend from our separate kitchens with them brought into my live social media feed, as folks tune in and watch what we create. Most times in 30 mins or less, I like to keep my broadcast short and sweet.

From me posting my cooking to my social media, my faithful Soulsa customers begin hitting me up asking if Soulsa by V was back up and selling. So, from Cooking with V TV, I also resurrected Soulsa by V and have been filling local orders, shipping across the US, and even doing a KC pop up shop Memorial Day weekend. I’ve also begin making and selling my own tortilla and cinnamon sugar pita chips to pair with my Soulsa’s.

So, the journey has been the greatest kind of hard there can be. It has been very exhilarating along the way, the lessons learned have been profound, have invoked change, and earned growth.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Soulsa by V brand salsa is a homemade fresh salsa line that hosts seven uniquely blended flavors. Fresh Soulsa, Fruit Soulsa, Black Bean and Corn Soulsa, Roasted Red Pepper Soulsa, Garlic Rainbow Soulsa, Mango Shrimp Soulsa, and the fan favorite, Hotmess Soulsa. Coming soon to the Soulsa by V line Adobo Tomatilla Soulsa.

Soulsa by V is affectionately known as the “after effect when soul takes a run for the border.” We pride ourselves in being a unique health brand boasting with flavor minus the salt, sodium, MSG, and added sugar. Simply all natural flavor from fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices

Cooking with V TV and Cooking with V and Friends is my YouTube cooking channel birthed straight outta Rona quarantine boredom for such a time as this. I post YouTube video content on various meals, meal prep, and immune system boost teas and smoothie. Every Monday evening, either alone or with friends, I host live cooking episodes on my Facebook and IG pages.

I’m known for the passion I have for cooking which in turn spills over into my food as well as my events, both in person and via social media. I feel like talent opens doors, but passion propels your talent into the door and beyond.

I think the thing I am most proud of is the fact that I have products and brands that people continuously demand. Even when I feel like I’m tired or I want to put them to the side, lay them down, or just stop producing, people will not let me. There are enough people who know, have tasted either my cooking or my Soulsa, love it and continue to say “V we want more.”

What were you like growing up?
I was a typical kid. Being the eldest of my mom’s children, I’ve always been a leader. My close friends will definitely say I’m bossy, but that comes from being the oldest child and a natural born leader. But growing up I was always a ball of fun, a social butterfly, and as much as I enjoyed being around lots of people, they enjoyed being around me just as much.

I was fairly studious and somewhat competitive also. I was always coming up with something new and fun to do event wise, but I was not into cooking until my mid to late 20’s. Funny how now cooking is my greatest passion and brings me the most joy.

Pricing:

  • Soulsa by V sells pint size jars for $10 each
  • Fried Corn tortilla chips, baked flour tortilla chips, and cinnamon pita chips are $4 per bag

Contact Info:

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