History of Red Cactus

Red Cactus-USA, "Country Sweet," Salsa started in April, of 1995 by Steven Lehenbauer on a minimal budget and a hopeful heart.  The original recipe was inspired by my Sweet Aunt Gracie many years ago.  She had been in her kitchen preparing a batch of sweet salsa, when she realized she had run out of sugar.  Her Dad had just stopped by with a jar of Sweet Sorghum Syrup.  "Um," she thought, "I'll think I will try some of the Sweet Sorghum Syrup."  Needless to say, it tasted wonderful and family and friends loved it.  A few years later, I had the inspiration to try marketing the salsa with a wonderful, lightly sweet flavor.

Now, I had no experience in the food industry and did not really know what was ahead of me.  But being young and courageous, I set out.  Very unusual though, because I had always been a very low risk taker, and this would require me to invest all the money I had, sell my car which I owned and loose any kind of paycheck for months, but that entrepreneurial spirit inside of me said to go forward.  Sitting at my kitchen table one evening, I doodled with pen and paper, while contemplating on the company name and logo.  The name and replica of the image I drew appears on each jar of Red Cactus, "Country Sweet" product still today.  Now, with a product and a label, I proceeded to have the sweet salsa manufactured and began cold calling on local stores.   The product was received very well and people loved the lightly sweet taste.  It was at this point, where the real challenge would come, how to market the product away from my local area, mishaps in manufacturing the product, financial strains, recipe changes and the list goes on.  But through it all, Red Cactus not only had a good product, but it seemed someone was looking out for us and had a purpose beyond what I could have imagined at that point.  Nine years later, with many challenges and successes behind us, Red Cactus "Country Sweet" Salsa has sold thousands on thousands of jars of salsa all over the country and continues to grow and meet new challenges everyday.  I changed the company name from Red Cactus Foods to Red Cactus - USA, Inc. several years ago, when I realized the scope of where the business was heading.  Maybe soon, it will be sold internationally. 

As a man of Christian beliefs, I now understand more that ever, that it was God who gave me the idea!  I would not have been able to handle the pressures of starting a business such as Red Cactus without his strength in my life.  Therefore, to honor him, every jar of salsa has had a scripture reference on it from day one.  Mark 9:23 where Jesus states, "All things are possible to him who believes!" was chosen and used during the beginning years and was later changed to Duet. 8 (Deuteronomy - Chapter Eight), which explains the complete history and success of this business and personal testimony from a Christian perspective.  To read further, click on the Christian Profile tab and read "From the Cactus to the Cross."