Today we’d like to introduce you to Barbara Marynowski.
Hi Barbara, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Basia’s Pickles started out as a gift for family and friends and are truly from the heart! I created the original recipe as something special for the holidays and every year, I had more and more requests. I love bringing joy to others and saw how excited and happy people got over these pickles. That quickly became my mission as I evolved Basia’s into a real business – to spread love! It’s even an official ingredient on the labels.
I decided to name my brand Basia’s (pronounced BAH-shuh’s), which is my name Barbara in Polish, as a way of honoring my family roots. I’m very proud to be a first-generation American and humbled by the great sacrifices my parents and grandparents made in order to be here. Making them proud means everything to me. I also started my business with just a few hundred dollars. I grew up seeing that with hard work anything is possible and was always encouraged to dream as big as possible.
A few years ago, I survived a nearly fatal illness and quickly decided I could no longer put my business on hold. I never wanted to look back and wonder “what if?” – even if I failed, I would know that I at least went for it. But here I am! I’m building my business, the empire, as I like to jokingly call it. I have been told that my determination has encouraged others who may be doubting how to start pursuing their own dream, which is such a compliment. I can enthusiastically say – keep going, hustle hard, and believe! I have even been honored with new consulting opportunities recently and love that I get to pay it forward.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Overall, I have been so blessed on this journey, but no, it is not always a smooth road! Any entrepreneur will surely agree that sleepless nights and non-stop days are normal sometimes, but it is an awesome feeling of victory when I get over the hurdles because this is my baby. I have learned to expect the unexpected and use the challenges as opportunities to grow – I firmly believe in the power of positivity.
Supply chain shortages have been a recent issue that of course caught the industry, and the world, by surprise. Struggling to source glass jars has definitely been a challenge, as well as rising costs for materials and freight. I had a tight deadline for our launch with Whole Foods and when Covid struck, we encountered scheduling, production and delivery obstacles. We had to quickly make modifications to our plan or potentially lose the opportunity to be on their shelves! Luckily, through amazing teamwork with my distributor and manufacturing team, we were successful in our launch. I swear I didn’t sleep that week, but I learned more about myself, my will and the power of a great team!
I am always determined to find a solution and think outside of the box instead of accepting defeat. I believe taking an approach to work with others with a positive attitude helped to solve this situation. There is a balance in being firm yet flexible!
Go forth and be fearlessly awesome! This is handwritten on a note on my fridge so I see it multiple times each day. It reminds me to keep going, no matter what challenges may arise, and to believe in myself. It also reinforces my belief to be kind to others and be true to the ideals that are part of my personal foundation. I also find that this instills a sense of pride and inspiration to shine, which I hope in turn inspires others.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Basia’s Pickles?
Basia’s Pickles is a woman-owned gourmet food company with some of the most delicious and unique pickled creations out there. They’re full of fresh, natural ingredients, including apple cider vinegar in the cucumber pickles and turmeric in the Yellow Squash Relish, plus the secret to anything wonderful – lots of love! Everything is small batch and proudly made in Texas.
Our pickles have acquired an amazing following, including rockstars and athletes who drink our pickle juice to rehydrate (and chase whiskey with picklebacks)!
Basia’s Pickles believes delicious food is a blessing to be shared and donates to various non-profits in Texas and throughout America, including food banks and veterans organizations. Basia’s mission is to bring joy to others!
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My parents deserve the award for biggest and best cheerleaders! My family is constantly encouraging me and always the first to celebrate my business milestones with me. I am so lucky to have so many amazing friends who support my small business and big dreams! And I definitely have the best fans in the world! I am always humbled by the emails and messages I receive from customers who tell me they love my pickles or share photos of Basia’s.
I also can’t say enough great things about HEB! Central Market was my first large retailer and I was also honored as a Quest for Texas Best Finalist in 2019. HEB has been incredibly generous in offering business resources and networking to help small businesses like mine. They truly support Texas brands and I am so grateful to have a relationship with them.
And huge thank you to my friend Alana Chandler Webre, co-owner of The Culinary Room, for believing in me from the beginning and being my first retailer in Texas when Basia’s first launched.
