Success Story: Cha-Cha Sweets

Cha-Cha Sweets Turns Social Media Trend into a Six-Figure Business

Location: Northern California | Napa County | American Canyon

Business Type: Confectionery Manufacturing

Small Business Center: Solano-Napa SBDC

Assistance Received: Business Planning and Development

California State Assembly District: 4

California State Senate District: 3

Visit Cha-Cha Sweets online

Angel Rodriguez knew before he graduated high school in 2020 that he wanted to be an entrepreneur. For Angel, it was never a matter of if, but when he would start his own business. He enrolled in college after graduation, then left just days into the semester, unwilling to wait four years to get started. 

At the time, Chamoy, a Mexican condiment that blends sweet, sour, spicy, and salty flavors, was gaining popularity beyond its roots in Latin communities. Angel saw an opportunity and launched Cha-Cha Sweets, a Chamoy candy company, out of his home in Napa. 

“I honestly didn’t expect my business to be in candy, but I knew I wanted to start my career,” he said. “I hopped on a trend that was on social media at the time, because even then, I saw it as being more than a trend. I could see it being a long-lasting market. Now we’re five years into the business and the marketplace continues to grow for this type of candy.” 

As an 18-year-old entrepreneur, Angel quickly discovered how complex building a packaged candy business could be. He reached out to the Solano-Napa SBDC for assistance and learned the center’s NxLevel Entrepreneurship Training program was open for enrollment. Angel signed up and was paired with Anni Minuzzo, a food industry veteran and SBDC advisor, for the intensive 11-week program. During those early weeks, he learned he would need registrations, certifications, licenses, objective market research, and access to working capital to open and sustain the business. 

After NxLevel concluded, Angel and Anni continued meeting regularly as Cha-Cha Sweets got off the ground. With the support of his fiancé, friends, and family, Angel secured his Cottage Food Operators permit and ran his candy operation from home, selling primarily at farmers markets, flea markets, pop-ups, and events. His goal was to move out of his home kitchen, but he knew he needed the demand first. 

Two key milestones accelerated that path. First, Angel was selected for the NorCal SBDC Dream Fund program and received a $5,000 grant to invest in his business. Then, the organizers of BottleRock Napa Valley introduced La Onda, a stage and vendor section devoted to Latin culture, and invited Angel to participate as a vendor. Cha-Cha’s presence at the festival, combined with an active social media presence, rapidly expanded the brand’s customer base well beyond Napa. 

With sales far exceeding production capacity, Angel moved out of his home kitchen and into a warehouse in south Napa. Cha-Cha Sweets reached six figures in sales within three years, and Angel transitioned the business from a sole proprietorship to an LLC. He added one full-time and one part-time staff member, and sales grew by $174,000 in 2025 alone. He now has plans to take the brand national within two years. 

He credits Anni Minuzzo and the Solano-Napa SBDC as central to that growth. 

“Anni already lived it, she already went through the same struggles I was going through, and that gave me the confidence to move forward because she was there to guide me,” Angel said. 

“The SBDC gave me the confidence to dream bigger. I often tell people that Cha-Cha Sweets has been my real education. And with the SBDC and people like Anni beside me, they’ve helped me prove to myself that I don’t need a four-year degree to be someone in business.” 

Angel started Cha-Cha Sweets with nothing more than a trend he believed in, a home kitchen, and the drive to skip the traditional path and build something of his own. Five years later, he has a six-figure business, a warehouse operation, a growing team, and a national launch on the horizon. Visit Cha-Cha Sweets online to learn more. 

And if you are in Solano or Napa County and interested in starting or growing your own business, connect with the Solano-Napa SBDC to learn about their no-cost advising, training programs, and business development resources. 

6/1/2026