Pinole Blue honors the tradition of ancient culinary recipes, connecting cultures through heritage ingredients and provide a taste of history
Eddie Sandoval’s family is from Chihuahua, Mexico. Growing up, he would take trips twice a year to visit and bring home pinole, a multiuse, nutrient-dense mixture of roasted ground maize savored by his family for generations. Little did he know it would become his life’s work.
While studying business finance at Wichita State, Eddie realized his family wasn’t the only one that missed having easy access to pinole, a dry mix used in coffee drinks or smoothies. He also realized many locals were unaware of pinole and its extensive health benefits. Pinole originates from the Tarahumara tribe of Mexico, who would drink it for energy before running long distances. Today, it’s used by some of the best distance runners in the world for endurance and energy. After Speaking to his business professor Kate about the idea, she encouraged him to test the market. An entrepreneur at heart, Eddie bought a half ton of heirloom organic blue corn and drove across the country to get it. He started processing and packaging pinole between classes to sell to locals. Soon, his dorm room transformed into Pinole Blue headquarters and Eddie invented his own Pinole-based protein blend to appeal to athletes. He and his co-founder Kyle Offutt entered Pinole Blue in an annual venture competition at Wichita State – and won the $10,000 grand prize.
Pinole Blue began with a few pinole drink mixes and have grown to add cookies, protein bites, and even stone-ground tortillas. Pinole Blue has been featured in major outlets including Midwest Living, Buzzfeed, Remezcla and Shark Tank Season 13.
