Improving the Processing and Marketing of the Mira Sol Chile Pepper

Project Leader: Carl Musso, Mira Sol Chile Corp., Pueblo, CO Technical Advisor: Mike Bartolo, CSU Arkansas River Valley Research Center Project Year: 2002

Project Summary

The Mira Sol Corporation is made up of a group of farmers from eastern Pueblo County who grow peppers, specifically, the Mira Sol pepper. Out of these peppers, they make a line of salsas and chile products. The goal of this project is to test the feasibility of developing an additional product line for processed Mira Sol peppers and to test the feasibility of an organized marketing campaign to promote the fresh and processed peppers grown in Pueblo County .

There are two components to this project. 1.) Testing of a new product, including crop production, product development, and processing. 2.) Testing of developing advertising and promotional materials to be used in brochures and trade publications.

The results of this study showed that with a new product line and advertising, this company could expand and provide profit to the pepper farmers in Pueblo County . Mira Sol Corporation held many demos, from which they got more publicity. They also had a professional photographer take pictures of their product for advertising. Their ad was placed in the Chile Pepper, a national publication. The company improved their website (www.mirasolchile.com ) and now ship all over the United States .