While growing up in Orange County, California I learned that I could do anything as long as I kept reaching towards my dreams. I watched my parents work extraordinarily hard to make sure we had everything we needed and enough of what we wanted as children. Early on, at the age of fifteen, I chose to become the product of my own decisions not the decisions that were meant to be made for me. I was fortunate to be raised to be a strong individual and as such I decided to live on my own and finish high school in a place I knew was unmatched for education even though my parents jobs were taking them to other cities. I made that choice to commit to high achievement and success in life and they afforded me the chance, even if I failed because failing was an option as long as I learned. My journey was challenging at times but every obstacle I’ve overcome made me even more committed to look for opportunities to make a better life for others as an adult. Whether that means I am providing a supportive and pleasant environment for my staff, passing on my education from “Life’s University” to better their chances at future success, making safe and delicious food for consumers, or being a positive partner to the companies that work with us I believe AVA is the result of my story and those early decisions.

I am a first generation Filipino-American, I am a cancer survivor, I am a female in a predominantly male industry, I am a small business owner, but most importantly I am a daughter, sister, mother, and friend to those who got me here.  People ask me often, “Why AVA"?” AVA was already once my “first company”as a eight-year-old, little girl. My big brother, my older sister (and best friend) and I wanted to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain. We knew it would take some convincing to our parents, so we emptied out that backgammon board to use as a briefcase, made our presentation with crayons and dot printer paper and founded our first company AVA an abbreviation for Aaron, Vanessa, and Andrea. Together we knew we would make a strong pitch for our first “sale”.  We did get to go to the theme park that year, and now as an adult I get to see the rest of my dreams come true.

Never in my lifetime did I think I should register my company for an LLC, EIN, and FDA registration a mere couple of weeks before we experienced a global pandemic. I did however always think that our core parameters of success in start-up would be health, safety, happiness and supporting the grocery and e-commerce industries to the best of our abilities. We can only rise from here, as a family, as a country, and as a world. We are truly, “better together”. 

Kind regards, Andrea Blau