Sienna Sauce pulled: Houston teen entrepreneur getting support after Target stores plan to stop selling sauce
HOUSTON - You may remember Houston's young entrepreneur from Shark Tank. At just 15-years-old, Tyla-Simone Crayton started Sienna Sauce. A bit of a snag for the company came this spring as Target stores will no longer carry the condiment and Sienna Sauce may have to buy any unsold inventory.
The young Houston sauce boss has been in business for more than five years. But now, since a major store is going to stop selling her product, she's asking for your help.
"Getting that e-mail from Target that we're going to be removed from shelves was very emotional for me," explains the young entrepreneur's mom and Co-Founder of the company, Monique Crayton, and she took to social media, making her heartbreak known.
The video she posted about her daughter's business not only caught my attention, but supporters surfaced from everywhere after hearing this saucy entrepreneur may have to buy back any unsold supplies. So, Target stores went from having 2,500 bottles of Sienna Sauce in inventory to 2,000 as people rushed to rally around the now 20-year-old.
"I just want to say thank you," smiles Tyla Simone.
"She is the brains and the beauty behind the business. She has the fire. She wants to see this brand grow, and she cares about other brands as well and she works hard. What we have is an everything sauce, so you can use it on meat, seafood, poultry, vegetables. You can use it as a marinade, dip, glaze, pour, barbecue, sauté," Monique explains.
Tyla-Simone now also has her own restaurant in the Houston area, Sienna Wings, located inside Harvest Market, and she's a Business Major at UC Berkeley.
"When a teacher is explaining something like, 'oh yeah you do this, this, and this.' But I'm like, that's not considering any economic challenges, the different resources other companies may not have access to," the young business owner says, sounding more like the teacher of the class.
"I'm inspired by her every day," her mom said smiling.
Tyla-Simone's story has supporters showing up in a big way for the young, veteran business owner, and this Black History Month, the mother/daughter duo hope Houstonians will buy every bottle of Sienna Sauce from Target before the store stops selling it in April.
"I'm so happy my community is really coming together to help me in this vulnerable time," Tyla-Simone explains.
Her mom added, "There are 2,000 bottles of Sienna Sauce left in Texas Target stores. I think with the community's support we can get that number down to zero. Target's probably going to be like how did this happen? Why didn't they do this before?"
They've learned selling in big box stores can come with a hefty price tag.
"You have to spend your own money on marketing dollars. When you go into a grocery store, and you pull one of those coupons from a product to save $.50 cents, for you to get the discount, we pay for it," Monique explains.
"It has been really hard. I feel like mental health and entrepreneurship is not talked about enough in cohesion, and I feel like it should be," says Tyla-Simone.
As she continues her own business journey, Tyla Simone is helping others with theirs, even hosting an upcoming Black Business Fair at Sienna Wings on February 25, 2024 and she's inspiring youngsters, "To not be afraid to go out and follow their dreams, and so I feel like when I'm not succeeding in the way I'd hope I'm kind of letting down a whole generation". This super smart, young business owner certainly isn't letting anyone down and, in fact, she's an inspiration.
"I'm a proud mom. (You should be). Anything you guys can do to help with that journey would be appreciated. I'm not telling you to go pick up something that isn't great. We know we have a great product, and it's a healthier choice," says Monique.
Good news for the company. They just learned whatever inventory doesn't sell at Target, they won't have to buy it back. It will be donated.