Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexander Ortiz.
Hi Alexander, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
When I started Three Dogs Pickles I had no idea that we would be where we are today. About ten years ago I moved from Columbus Ohio to Denver to attend Johnson and Wales culinary school. After graduating at the top of my class I pursued my career in culinary working in different places around Denver working my way up the chain to a few different management positions. After working hard in the industry for 11 years I had finally found a position that provided the things necessary to live my life and have fun while doing so. About six months after the entire world was shut down due to Co-Vid19, and because of that my career in the industry came to a screeching halt — I could no longer work in the field that I knew and needed to find something new with little to no experience in any other industry. This put me in a low place for a minute that I knew I couldn’t stay in. One day after weeks of taking day-long naps and drinking I got fed up with the idea of not working anymore so I made the decision to finally work for myself. Pickles had been something that I knew how to do for a very long time and because of my minimal space in my studio apartment, I needed to make something that was shelf-stable and didn’t require any refrigeration after production. It seemed like a simple answer. So I decided that I would make a single batch and just see what I could do with the finished product.
After making the first batch I got nervous and let them sit in my apartment for a month questioning how I was ever going to sell pickles to people who didn’t ask for them. While I was nervous I knew that I needed to make the money back that I had spent on the original batch. So I came up with an idea that we would sell pickles on the side of 285 to the hikers that would be driving to and from the mountains. My first day out there went a million times better than expected, and all I could think was how this is actually something that would work if I just put all of my efforts into it. So that’s what I did! We continued the summer doubling the amount we would make every week and week after week we would sell out and id have to go home and make more. Fast forward to the summer where we finally got our names into a couple of well-known farmer’s markets around the city of Denver. Once that happened we started taking off, getting offers all over Denver to join different markets and it quickly became overwhelming (in a good way). Now as of this year we are going to be in a minimum of five markets a week and couldn’t be happier to be where we are today. I never thought that in two years we would go from highway sales to making more than I have ever earned in my life. It all takes hard work and a lot of effort but I have never felt happier doing something I love and working for myself.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Three Dogs Pickles has never had a “Smooth” road. Our struggles don’t have as much to do with things not working out for us but rather the effort and time that goes into the whole process. A regular week for me consists of working Monday- Friday most times not going to bed till 6 or 7 am and waking up around 9 or 10 am to get it all going again. While I enjoy the work and I have the ability to create my own schedule I will say that pickles normally take over most of what my life consists of. In that sense, though every time I run into an issue fixing it and making things work feels so good and rewarding. I can honestly say that we’ve had a few struggles — but the ones we have had are short-lived and fixed as quickly as possible because all a struggle is, is a bump in an almost smooth road!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Three Dogs Pickles LTD?
Three Dogs Pickles is a family-owned pickle company in the city of Denver! Now while we know most people think of a pickle as just that, a pickle. But we don’t see it that way! We see pickles as a highlight, something that can change a bad meal to a good one. We also don’t believe in the traditional style of pickles because we know it has been done a million times over. In order to stand out from the crowd, we do something different than anyone else! While most pickle companies will flavor the brine we don’t believe in that, your flavor shouldn’t come from the brine but rather the jar itself so because of that we came up with the concept of “Whole Ingredient Pickles” (WIP). WIP means that instead of us putting all of our flavors into the pot we tediously weigh out every ingredient in every jar. This means that each flavor that you read on our labels is exactly what you’re getting! Spicy Garlic has 50 grams of garlic per jar, Spicy Asian has a load of ginger and sesame per jar and that’s just the start of the flavors we offer. We want you to be overwhelmed by the amount of flavor you get in every bite, we want to stand out as something you’ve never tried before. While we do specialize in cucumber pickles we also over the years have branched out to different products such as our pickled Onions, Jalapeños, Garlic and my favorite Pickled Pineapple. Our Pickled Pineapple is one of our best sellers and we LOVE to see how creative folks get with it – people add it to pizza, tacos, or just make their salsas more feisty with it!! Week after week we make more and more things to bring you something crazy and new every single time.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
My success, while it can be attributed to my hard work and my ability to run on 2 hours of sleep, most of my success comes from the people in my life and the support I receive from the people that are close to me. The only way that this company has become what it is is due to the fact that I have a constant support system from anyone who has ever been involved. There have been many times where things have felt down and like we shouldn’t be doing this anymore and I am met with such support that we get a reset and keep thriving. I can’t thank people enough for the support and love I have felt since starting this company.
Pricing:
- 1 for 12 and 3 for 30 at the farmer’s markets
- 13-40$ on the website
- Cheapest place to buy is at the farmer’s markets
Contact Info:
- Email: Three.Dogs.Pickles@gmail.com
- Website: https://threedogspickles.com/
- Instagram: @Three_Dogs_Pickles
- Facebook: Facebook.com/ThreeDogsPickles
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHqUyF3lxBQhvu5B3K9HcNQ
- Other: https://www.bbb.org/us/co/denver/profile/pickles/three-dogs-pickles-ltd-1296-1000118940
