SA business delivers taste of home in care packages

Mexican candies biggest sellers for G-Runners

SAN ANTONIO – Ruben Herrera gingerly packed a cardboard shipping box full of goodies like watermelon chili candies and hot and spicy fried pork rinds.

"They also like Taki's (spicy chips) which are not found everywhere," Herrera said.

Certainly not in Romania, where the priority package will be delivered to a San Antonio serviceman.

"He's just stationed over there, and he just wants a little taste of home," he said.

Herrera, a South Side entrepreneur who recently lauched a grocery delivery business called G-Runners, has now branched into delivering care packages to people who are far from home.

It all started when a San Antonio family living in Germany had a hankering for some Texas treats and contacted Herrera through social media.

"I was like, 'Why not create an online store that's designed for military care packages where people can come order online, pay online and we'll prepare it for shipping in 24 hours,'" Herrera said.

His online store offers a wide range of snacks and treats, from peanut butter and Cracker Jacks to sour pickle balls, pecan pralines and fajita seasonings.

"Big Red and Mexican candies are our biggest sellers," he said.

Herrera was also preparing to ship a box filled with Big Red to a family stationed in South Dakota, where the southern soda is hard to find.

Customers pay for the groceries, which are marked up slightly from the store price, plus $29.99 for shipping and the convenience of having Herrera drive, shop, package and mail the care package. He uses a "priority mail" flat-rate box offered by the U.S. Postal Service.

His online store www.shop.g-runners.net also offers some hygiene products and entertainment items like playing cards and magazines.


About the Author:

Marilyn Moritz is an award-winning journalist dedicated to digging up information that can make people’s lives a little bit better. As KSAT’S 12 On Your Side Consumer reporter, she focuses on exposing scams and dangerous products and helping people save money.