b'Meet the Local CoupleBehind Seor SangriaMaplewood residents turn favorite party drink into a popular bottled beverageBY MALIA RULON HERMANMaria Camelo and Rick Martinez started Seor Sangria nearly 15 years ago.I tallstartedbecauseRickMartinezFor minority business owners, access to couldnt cook. capital is the biggest challenge, De La Hoz Instead of bringing a dish of some- says. He told Martinez what he needed to do thing to share at friends house par- to qualify for a U.S. Small Business Admin-ties, Martinez would show up with aistration loan, he says, and two years later the jug of homemade sangria, which in- couple landed the loan.cluded red wine, Minute Maid frozenDuring that time, we learned a lot of concentrated orange juice, apple juice, lime,things, De La Hoz says. We learned that sugar and a dash of brandy. the best way to promote sangria is to allow ThereasonImadeitisthateveryonepeople to taste it. But you also need people brings something to a party, Martinez ex- to pay attention to your family story, because plains. when people get connected with the journey, That went on for a while, with his san- they love it even more.gria getting more and more popular amongThatstorymighthavestartedwhen hisfriends,whostartedrequestingspecialCamelo told Martinez that they should just batches. bottle and sell the sangria, but the journey Finally,onedrunkennight,hisgirl- for the new products to roll out, especially the cans. from that night to the launch of their busi-friend, Maria Camelo, turned to him and said, YouReady-to-drinkcocktailsarebig,Thorntonness took three years of research and de-should just bottle this sangria you keep making forsays. Itll be a game changer. velopment, including sourcing ingre-parties, and we should sell it. Martinez and Camelo attribute their companysdients.So they did. success to not being afraid to follow their dreams,Welooked,andwecouldntre-Three years after Camelos big idea, the first bot- something they learned from their parents.ally find anything on the market us-tle of Seor Sangria Classic Red debuted in 2009.Martinez,afirst-generationCubanAmerican,ing good wine and real fruit juice, Classic White followed two years later. wasinspiredbyhisparentsmovetotheUnitedCamelo says. We wanted some-Now, nearly 15 years, one wedding and two chil- States in search of opportunity. Camelos parents,thing where you could just open dren later, the couple is about to take their smallwho are from Portugal, moved first to South Africathe bottle and drink it and it tastes business to the next level with the launch of a newand then this country for the same reason. homemade.flavor,appleraspberry,andsingle-servingcansofThats part of what fuels us, Camelo says. OurTo do that, she says, they need-sangria spritzer. parents took risks in coming to the U.S. They up- ed to create a beverage that tasted We are so excited about it, Martinez said, add- rooted their whole family. If they could do that, welike Martinezs homemade sangria ing that they hope the new flavor, which includescan take risks to have a business that is successful. but was made without artificial in-brandy, will be out by the end of the year in timeLuis O. De La Hoz, chairman of the Statewidegredients, flavors or preservatives.for the holidays. The cans are expected to debut inHispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, saidYoucantuseMinuteMaid the spring. helping Martinez and Camelo grow their businesscans, she says, not when youre Tony Thornton of Shore Point Distributing, anhas been rewarding, and not only because their san- making 50,000 cases.Seor Sangria Classic early supporter of Seor Sangria, said he cant waitgria is delicious. Her comment makes Mar- White Sangria32/ matters magazine / holiday 2023'