About Santa Barbara Salsa

The old missions along the Camino Real contained the most extensive varietal gardens. Tended with loving care, they produced the most succulent fruits and vegetables. From these choice ingredients our family recipes were created and passed down over the generations to create what is now the Santa Barbara Salsa family of products.

With our roots in California, our unique “style” of salsa and sauce was bound to be a little “different” from the rest. We celebrate the unique flavors and textures created by blending traditional California ingredients and authentic Mexican spices. We call this process “layering the flavors” and it's unique among the leading brands (many of whom hail from Texas). Our products are generally described as “medium” in heat (although we do have mild and hot for true aficionados!). Unlike “Texas salsas”, however, Santa Barbara products use heat only as an enhancer to bring out the natural flavors of our ingredients. Our texture is also chunkier, since that fits the homemade character and recipes of our Old California heritage.

Santa Barbara is one of America's leading brands of refrigerated and bottled salsas, but we weren't always. Back in 1984, the brand's founder started making our original fresh Santa Barbara Salsa out of the kitchen of his popular restaurant, which was a hangout for locals in Santa Barbara, California. The salsa was so well received by his customers that people started to ask if they could buy the salsa to take home with them. As word spread, local grocers and restaurants became devotees, so he delivered gallons, cases or whatever they needed to their back doors in his old station wagon.

Today, we're a little bigger. We make the salsa in our state of the art and California State licensed plant, but the original quality remains. Our commitment to our customers always has been and always will be, to produce the highest quality product. We use only the firmest, freshest and most flavorful tomatoes. We actually grow our own tomatoes most of the year (a specific variety we believe makes the best fresh salsa). We're picky, so even though we buy our chilies and onions we reject what others might find “O.K., since it's going in salsa!” We want you to enjoy our salsa just like you prepared it yourself. Would you use anything less than the very best ingredients if you were serving it to your family or friends?

Today, Santa Barbara Salsa is a California Creative Foods company. California Creative is America's leading manufacturer of refrigerated salsa products and one of the few specialty salsa producers that markets and manufactures its own products. We sell salsas under several leading brand names including Chachies®, Santa Barbara Salsa™ (shelf stable and fresh), Tio Tio®, San Diego Salsa™ and Con Gusto®.

Please take a moment to visit the web site of our other primary fresh salsa brand, Chachies Salsa. We also co-pack fresh and shelf stable products in a variety of food categories and make high-end salad dressings, marinades and sauces for many clients, large and small. We are pleased to provide quotations and feasibility information for prospective new clients. For more information about our company, contact us at ccf@sbsalsa.com.

(Con Gusto® is used under license from Con Gusto Foods)