Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Pritchard.
Taylor, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My husband and I simultaneously had the same idea before meeting – homemade pops. He was raised in the north side of Fort Worth where the paleterio would walk up and down the streets ringing his bell for kids and adults alike to come enjoy a cool refreshing paleta. And I’ve always had a special place in my life for the delicious frozen treats. Since meeting my husband, I have fallen in love with the Hispanic culture and cuisine – which is more of the direction our pops have gravitated towards. Fast forward four years, we moved further west and there came an opportunity to finally make our daydream a reality at a local farmers market start-up. So, we decided it was now or never. It was not easy, but if it was everyone would do it, right? There have been many times that I’ve wanted to give up when difficulties arose, but I always look back to how far we’ve come and just keep on moving. We are at two different local establishments and do “pop-ups” at events and are now catering.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not!! As much as I wanted it to be puppies and rainbows and flowers the whole way, that’s just not the reality. Just learning and complying with the local health requirements was a struggle alone. All I had known was that I wanted to make and sell paletas, so there was definitely a lot of learning as we went. Probably one of the most disastrous moments was when I was scrambling to get my stock built up for the opening day of The Market at 76067 and I accidentally left a spoon in my blender… let’s just say there was a lot to clean up. And I had to find a new blender.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Hello Hielo Paletas – what should we know?
Our name literally means “Hello Ice (or cold)” when translated from Spanish. And as a play of the sound of “hielo”, we incorporate yellow into our logo. We make all of our flavors from scratch with real ingredients, no fake colors and no preservatives. We lean towards the traditional paleta flavors but add a little twist to some to make it our own. Our most popular right now and my personal favorite is Toasted Coconut. It’s so dreamy, creamy and toasty!
We also use Crazy Water in our fruit-based flavors, which is bottled here locally in Mineral Wells. I guess I would say I’m most proud of pushing through the difficulties. It does make me appreciate my business so much more that I’ve been able to watch it grow and see that my hard work simply wasn’t for nothing.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Consistency. Consistency is the most simple thing in the world, yet it plays such a large role in business. This is something that I’m constantly striving to become better at. And building a good rapport with people is so important. If you aren’t a nice person, you probably won’t get very far. As Michael Scott says, “Business is always personal. It’s the most personal thing in the world.” Funny, but he’s kinda right!
Contact Info:
- Address: 100 S. Oak Ave. Mineral Wells, TX 76067
215 NE 27 Ave. Mineral Wells, TX 76067 - Email: hellohielopaletas@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/hellohielo
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/hellohielo
Image Credit:
Mural Artist – Sydney Fewell
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