Meet Jen and Rick Kanter of barrio.la in Mar Vista & Whittier

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jen and Rick Kanter.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jen and Rick. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
We are two siblings, originally from the Seattle area. Seattle was a very locally sourced & focused city- Pikes Place Market is a well-known example of that & our family went there almost every weekend growing up. After spending years working as corporate television executives in Los Angeles, we found ourselves drawn to create a company based on our personal lifestyles & unassuming approach to Los Angeles. Our first step was deciding on the name of our company- we wanted a name that represented us as Angelenos, our neighbors, our neighborhoods & communities. We wanted our company to contribute in an inclusive & positive way to all of the above.

Has it been a smooth road?
It’s been a smooth road in that we have remained 100% focused on our mission; supporting community minded independent (or people owned) businesses, non-profits, schools, farmers markets & local product makers.

Our struggle has sometimes been in defining our company to others. Essentially have two companies, barrio.la which is 100% not pay-to-play, but an authentic snapshot of things we love in Los Angeles, including things to do, places to go & products.

Our other company barrio partners are a locally focused marketing agency (with a twist)- we believe in the value of people connecting with your company on a personal level, especially within your Los Angeles neighborhood & community. Our approach is unique in that we evaluate your company on a broader scale before we tackle your marketing. Make sure you’re operationally, financially, digitally & professionally buttoned up first!

So, as you know, we’re impressed with barrio.la – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We’re known for being local marketing experts & a successful marketing liaison between businesses & non-profits. We’re always looking out for ways to help our product partners- our personalized gift boxes filled with locally made goods make people happy! Some of our favorite emails come from people thanking us for them.

Having worked on large scale campaigns at the corporate level for years, we learned all the ways that people do not connect on this broad of a scale, which really brought us to the opportunities for smaller companies (with less of a budget). We know how to share your brand, communicate what makes your brand unique & personal touches that make all the difference. I would say that we are pretty good at telling other peoples’ companies stories- & we really love doing it. No smoke & mirrors; just transparent tactics that are good for companies’ long term strategies & success. And we try to be nice to people along the way!

We’re proud to be a brother & sister team, a family-focused business, first generation Mexican-Americans & a half-female owned company. We’re proudly unassuming (which hopefully you can tell by our social media), focused on featuring & promoting neighborhoods all around the city (not just the traditionally pretty ones) & really hustle to make sure that all of our local partners are promoted to the best of our ability.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
We love the mix of cultures, people, vibes & neighborhoods here- beach, city, country, suburban, mountains, hills, valleys it’s all around us. That’s why we love walking around Los Angeles & taking Metro so much- you never know what you could find.

It would be so easy to say “our traffic”, but we would say, the rumor that everyone stays within a five mile radius of their home. Let’s squash that rumor once & for all!

Contact Info:

• Address: 11700 National Blvd., Suite L102,
• Website: barrio.la
• Phone: 2136107710
• Email: email@barrio.la
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barrio.la/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barriolaLocalRocks
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/barrio_la_ca
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/barriopartners

Image Credit:
Anne Stericker @annelovescoffeemore

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.