Today we’d like to introduce you to Eli Mazahreh.
Founded in 2016, Maza Hummus was brought to life by Eli Mazahreh, a Biomedical Engineer with a Masters in Business from Drexel University and a passion for making food.
Eli associates hummus with memories from his youth. Friday mornings, having breakfast with his family and sharing meals with those most important to him. Having searched for hummus that balanced all of his favorite flavors and memories, he found none. It was then that Maza Hummus was born. Eli had always made his hummus for social gatherings, potlucks and social events, but it wasn’t until he took first place at a work Vegan competition that he decided to risk it all. He left a comfortable job as a Senior Account Executive for a large technology company in Los Angeles and moved back to Sacramento, California to start his own line of business, making his hummus and sharing it with those around him. Eli strives to provide a healthy and oil free hummus. He produces 20-pound hand-made batches at a time after handpicking the ingredients for flavor and quality. This dedication to quality is driven by the three pillars on which Maza rests: family, kindness and health. In the family, we find comfort, in kindness we find joy and in health we find the passion to do what we love most.
Eli wanted to bring Hummus back on the map and whats better than Oil Free Hummus in Sacramento; The Farm-to-Fork Capital.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Its been a roller coaster. A fun and scary one to say the least. The main obstacle was and continues to be CAPITAL! You need money to make money and that is not always an easy thing. I was able to figure things through growing slowly but surely. I started selling at farmers market and then my growth started with Nugget Markets. Once I was established as a favorite hummus brand with them, I was able to grow into Raley’s and Bel Air.
Another challenge was explaining what Hummus is for the department of health. Hummus was never black or white in terms or required licenses, etc. It was more of a grey area that needed further elaboration on how its made, why it’s a low vs a high risk, what kind of establishment is it produced in and what kind of precautions are set in place to eliminate any risks involved in the hummus production.
I know that as Maza Hummus grows, I will have a new set of growing pains to deal with but I also know that I have built enough skills and experience to handle them. One step at a time!
Please tell us about Maza Hummus.
Maza Hummus is my pride and joy. I have been through it all. From the rise to the falls and everything in between. I am the owner, maker, distributor, filler, sealer and all the other departments needed to make Maza Hummus a success.
I wanted to bring my background of being an immigrant with a lot of culture and history (and a huge love of food) to the table to Maza Hummus in the capitol of California. I wanted to somehow tie in my biomedical engineering degree (food side) and my MBA ( business and marketing) to my company. I wanted to include my love for Family, Kindness and Health into Maza Hummus as well.
Maza Hummus stands by those three pillars. In the family, we find comfort, in kindness we find joy and in health we find the passion to do what we love most.
We provide a gluten-free, vegan and with no added oil Hummus that your taste buds will love. Maza Hummus is available in classic, garlic, jalapeno and black olive. You pick what you like and leave the rest to us. Maza Hummus is low in calories, high in protein and with NO SUGAR.
With our product available in over 40 stores now, you can find it easily at a store near you. All of our locations are available at www.mazahummus.com Under “find us”
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I honestly would have not changed a thing. I enjoyed this journey, met and got to know so many great human being who are changing the world in their own way. I dont think I would be where I am today if I did anything differently.
There is a lot of kindness and joy in the world, you just gotta see it!
Pricing:
- Any Hummus 8 oz container is just $4.99
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mazahummus.com
- Phone: 916-256-2561
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: mazahummus
- Facebook: mazahummus
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