Check Out Ismael Lua’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ismael Lua.

Hi Ismael, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
This journey actually started with my dad. He began selling food (carnitas, buche, chicharron) to his neighbors and always received raving compliments. He eventually started selling in street corners when I was around 11 years old. I grew up hearing nothing but good things about his food. When he first started street vending it was illegal so he bounced around from location to location, then he would rent out kitchens. No matter where he went or how hidden the location was, his amazing food always seemed to shine. Unable to own his own location, through the years a customer base was established. They began hiring him for private events and thus started the catering business. He would always bring me a long, I wanted to hang out with friends and play video games but life always seemed to steer me towards an entrepreneurial route. I catered my first party by myself when I was a 15 years old. A Teenager cooking for a party of 50, imagine their surprise.

After high school, I went off to college, bouncing around from major to major without finding a career to stick to… I decided to drop out. At this moment, I embarked on what’s been a difficult mission to scale my parent’s business. Paying attention to the market, I began to realize how poorly my community is utilizing social media. Tacos are such a popular culinary art yet nobody is traveling to LA to try one spot. It’s the only food group that pop culture has dedicated a day for, Taco Tuesday. In n out is a west coast restaurant with an international presence. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of businesses who are doing great, but if you look at the top 10 social media food businesses, none are Mexican-owned. Chipotle is probably on that list and considering that Mexican food is truly embarrassing. Every Mexican restaurant, street vendor, caterer has the potential to grow internationally, just like the avocado industry. I aspire to become an expert in marketing, having a social media following that allows me to monetize in a different way and be able to share my dad’s amazing food around the world for free.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My business took a huge hit as a result of the pandemic. We solely relied on large gatherings as a source of income. When large gatherings weren’t happening, our business suffered. We have a strong customer base, 5 star reviewed and seems to be exiting the storm. But this experience showed me the importance of social media. Since we didn’t have a presence on popular platforms when we tried to diversify our service, no one knew about it. The business grew to a healthy position simply through word of mouth, so it has become my responsibility to make sure the world knows this amazing recipe. Every business needs to diversify their income, adapt to the changing market, and focus on having a marketing team either through outsourcing or creating an in house team. Currently, my sister is helping with the videography and editing as I research and play around with ads. My biggest issue has been being able to balance the daily routine with content creation for social media. The daily routine of a caterer is hectic and adding the responsibility of marketing the biz helps me understand why business owners stick to selling to the public and simple pictures/videos of their food. I believe content creation is an art and a science that I hope to master.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Our business unique talent is my dad’s culinary skills that were passed on to me which are truly in a league of their own. We design our videos that are posted on Instagram to be tailored to building a connection with the client. Onsite, we listen to their conversation the experience and make sure to reflect their values/conversations through video/caption written form. From the food to the service to the making of our social media content, you will experience a never before seen artist.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
Sitting down on the sidewalk close to one of the locations where my dad street vending, eating some tacos de costilla fresh out of the Caso. People would walk by and the aroma, the thrilled look on my face would encourage them to buy.

Pricing:

• Catering service $10 per person 50 person minimum
• Organic menu $22 per person 50 person minimum
• Drop-off catering $10 per person $80 service fee 10 person minimum
• Organic drop-off catering $22 per person $80 service fee 15 person minimum

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fernandos-catering.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fernandoscatering/