The library might not be the first place that comes to mind when you want a snack, but that didn’t stop dozens of people from walking through downtown San Antonio’s Central Library doors for a consumer-packaged goods showcase Thursday evening.

Ten small businesses set up tables in Launch SA’s first-floor space to showcase snacks, drinks, canned goods and healthcare products — all under the wide umbrella of consumer packaged goods, or CPGs.

The event was hosted by Launch SA, a city-funded effort to support small business start ups, and San Antonio CPG, a volunteer group specifically focused on supporting CPG businesses.

Its goal was to give community members and buyers a chance to see innovative packaged products and to allow the individual producers, many of them San Antonio-based small businesses, to network and share their goods.

“This is a good opportunity for people who have been established and want to be established,” said Katherine Rico, Launch SA’s partnership manager. “Consumer packaged goods are huge in San Antonio.”

Attendees ranged from those who were entirely new to Launch SA, like local school teachers Andrés and Mónica Loya’s chimichurri and preserves business, Sabor y Arte, to known quantities, like Andrea Ley’s Olla Express Cafe.

Rya Banda hands a sample of Olla Express Coffee to Ruth Navarro and Christa Luna at the Launch SA Consumer Packaged Goods Showcase at the Central Library. Credit: Vincent Reyna for the San Antonio Report

Sabor y Arte were invited by a friend, said Mónica Loya, but had enjoyed the opportunity to network. The couple sells their goods on social media and at local farmers markets on the weekends.

“The idea is to learn more about how to get involved in local business,” she said. “This is our first time and we plan to continue.”

Ley’s business started in 2017 and has since moved into a brick-and-mortar location near downtown. One of the cafe’s syrups is now sold at H-E-B.

“Launch SA is a great resource for small businesses,” she said, adding that it helps new business owners find a way forward. “They connect the dots. If they don’t know, they are going to find it for you.”

Helping businesses launch

Rico said success looks different for each business. Some want brick-and-mortar locations, some want to be widely distributed across different states. Others want to stay mobile and local. Either way, Launch SA wants to connect people with resources and ideas to help get their ideas off the ground or grow into their next step.

Many are just starting out, though.

“We service everybody from all different stages,” Rico said. “But we get a lot of, ‘Hey, I have this idea and I need to start it.’”

Launch SA is a city-funded initiative to support small businesses and is operated through a $1.7 million, three-year contract with Geekdom, a downtown co-working and entrepreneurial space, in 2023. Launch SA’s space was renovated for $1.3 million in 2013.

Rico said anyone interested in the program can reach out over the phone, at Launch SA’s website or come to the first floor of the Central Library to talk in person.

The exhibitors are largely part of a group that meets on the third Thursday of every month, when they can share and learn from each other and see speakers or experts who are brought in to provide advice.

The program has produced several small businesses that are featured in broader markets, including finalists for H-E-B’s Quest for Texas contest, like Hess Street Foods and JD’s Chili Parlor.

Diana Anderson, who runs JD’s Chili Parlor with her family, said she came into the industry with the goal of making good chili and bringing people together. Launch SA taught her about the business side of things.

“I didn’t really know much about the food industry. It opened my eyes,” Anderson said. “I’ve certainly made mistakes along the way. When I do, I can come here and ask for help.”

JD’s recently launched pasta sauces to go along with its chilis. Anderson sees the group as an opportunity for small business owners to continue to collaborate, support each other and find a market amidst competition from much bigger packing companies.

Connecting to build economy

Andrew Anguiano, a local business owner and the volunteer group San Antonio CPG’s chair, said attention to startups can be narrow and tech-centric. He noted San Antonio’s food scene and said packaged good producers could be successful here.

“This is really building economy,” he said. “We’re spreading something that we’re good at in San Antonio.”

There are many connections between the groups of entrepreneurs. Ley, for example, serves on San Antonio CPG’s board while also being a part of Launch SA.

Anguiano added that when that connection is combined with education, it can spread throughout the community. Enrique Treviño works with his wife and son on Thoughtful Snacks, which produces air fried, chocolate covered chicharrones available at several local markets and online.

He said he was able to get guidance on how to work with federal regulators — his family can now sell his product across the country.

Sample of red velvet cake ice cream cone from Condelicious. Credit: Vincent Reyna for the San Antonio Report

At Conedelicious, Jeremy Zapata handed one of his baked cake ice cream cones to Fabian, a local customer. Fabian’s eyes widened.

“It’s good,” he said. “It’s really good.”

Zapata has started to sell his novel cones in boxes online and is working with an ice cream shop in Helotes. He started coming to the Launch SA meetings after another community member suggested it. 

Zapata has figured out a way to bake cake — red velvet, chocolate, you name it — into an ice cream cone shape. Launch SA has helped with marketing and pricing, he said.

“I learn something every event I go to,” he said. “I try to go every month.”