One sticker, three little words—a hot recipe for marketing Alberta salsa, if you ask St. Albert entrepreneur Mary Burch.
The zesty home recipe salsa she once doled out only to the lucky few friends, teachers and coaches now adorns shop shelves around the country, proudly bearing the sticker “Made in Alberta.”
As the oldest girl in the family, she was tasked as a teen with making dinner. Later as a family person, Burch always did her own home canning, and was the perfect seasonal gift for valued educators.
“This went on for years as a hobby, but when my youngest was in Grade 1, their teacher said, ‘I don’t have any more Burch kids coming through my classroom. How am I going to get salsa?’”
From that question to 18,000 jars in 2022 is Mary Burch’s journey in a nutshell.
From her own kitchen stovetop, Burch went to making larger batches in the kitchen at Red Willow Church. When work in the oil patch was hard hit in 2017, her husband helped grow the burgeoning family business, with their kids joining in.
“He went from an oil field man to slinging salsa with me because of the way the oil market was going at the time,” Burch recalled.
In 2021, she applied for business incubation space in Leduc, “a big difference.”
In a single kettle, Burch prepares 375kg of salsa at a time – that’s 520 jars in one kettle.
“It was so important to me that when we scaled up, we didn’t change anything about our recipe,” she said.
That means the same premium Northern Alberta garlic, the same habeneros from a Lacombe greenhouse, the same vegetables from the Italian Centre in Edmonton.
“The thing I’m most proud of is that the ingredients I used in the church kitchen were exactly the same ingredients I use in Leduc,” she said.
Small batches and natural variations in growing seasons mean there can naturally be slight shadings in heat level or texture, Burch said.
“We try to keep things consistent, but expect a little variation because we use real food,” she said.
While some accustomed to more fiery varieties may say her salsa’s not hot enough, Mary Burch as a response to that.
“I’m a Canadian girl making salsa,” she said. “Our hot salsa is like an Alberta summer, not too hot, just enough to keep you warm.”
The patch to commercial production has been relatively smooth, Burch notes.
“Our biggest disaster is holding onto the tent at a farmers market on a windy Alberta summer day,” she said with a smile.
Initially, it was all regional farmers markets: the Old Strathcona in Edmonton, Salisbury in Sherwood Park, and of course, St. Albert at Christmas and in the summer.
These days, Red House Salsa’s in a hundred stores—everything from St. Albert’s Grapevine Deli and Italian Bakery’s Mercato to Sobeys, and shops around Alberta and other provinces.
The new provincial Made in Alberta voluntary labelling program is expected to help consumers find Alberta-made products on the shelves.
Alberta producers and processors can use the new label on their locally-made products. The Alberta Food Processors Association has a $5 million agreement to administrate the program through 2027.
“This program helps consumers and producers work together to easily identify the amazing products that are made right here in Alberta. By choosing a local product, you are not only helping the business but the community as a whole. Our members are proud of what they grow, produce and process and are excited to increase their local coverage in our province,” said AFBA chair Eric Haak.
