SAN ANTONIO – As Alysa Seeland sips and slurps her brew out of a pint jar, she’s getting a taste of her own success.
What she’s brewing in her East Side manufacturing kitchen is bone broth. The smell of homemade soup wafts above the giant brewing pots.
“Our goal is to make it as good-tasting as it is good for you,” Seeland said.
The small family business she founded along with her husband is called FOND. She explained that it's French for "foundation."
After brewing chicken bones for 16 to 24 hours, the cooks infuse the broth with flavors ranging from shallots to radishes to lemons, which are all sourced from local farmers.
“That’s what I’m passionate about, helping people see the connection between their health and what they eat,” Seeland said.
The 29-year-old mother of four young boys began her culinary adventure at home. A personal health crisis led her to try homemade bone broth, which she said made a world of difference.
It was something she wanted to share.
“I was trying to get other people to drink it and kept hearing two things: It’s too difficult for me to do, and it doesn’t taste good when I do it,” she said. “So, I thought, ‘I can help with that.’”
Seeland got cooking and peddling her pint jars at farmers markets, initially in New Braunfels.
“We sold 50 bottles our first day,” she said. “It had taken me all week to make that. I was completely surprised.”
What followed was hard work, investors, grants and awards, which all helped her turn up the heat. Before long, business was really brewing.
“It used to be a lot for us to buy 40 pounds of chicken,” she said. “We are buying 800 pounds of chicken a week now.”
They’ve come a long way since those first farmers markets. Seeland credits being able to peddle her broth at The Pearl market as a move that really launched their sales and notoriety.
Now, the business refrigerator is packed full of product ready to be shipped to more than 50 small retailers in Texas.
Later this spring, they expect to launch their products on shelves at two major retailers, meaning Seeland may soon need another stove.
“I want FOND to be a household name,” she said. “I want to be in everyone’s refrigerator.”