Tucked inside a small shopping center just 10 minutes from CSUN is the “Original Chile Gummy Bear Candy” store. The graffiti art across the main wall and fully stocked shelves of candies welcome customers and owner Melanie Navarro de Fuentes is there ready for your candy orders. But Fuentes didn’t start off with her store. In fact it took years for her to get there and her driving force was a necessity. In 2014, soon after the birth of her children, Cuban mother Melanie Navarro de Fuentes knew she wanted to provide for her family quickly. “I had two kids in diapers, and I needed extra money,” Fuentes said.

That same year, she decided to start a candy buffet business selling cake pops, cookies, cupcakes and more. She then moved on to make extravagant dessert tables at weddings, building up her clientele. One day, a customer asked her if she could make a Mexican themed table. “I agreed, so I decided to make it by using German gummy bears, because that’s what a gummy bear really is, but I then added chamoy and all the Mexican good stuff, and that’s how ChilOSO was born.” 

That was 10 years ago. Now she is the CEO of ChilOSO and for the last four years has operated her own store in Northridge, CA. Fuentes purchased her store during the COVID-19 pandemic– in a time when many people lost their businesses, Fuentes took the opportunity to expand hers. The store carries some of her popular chile gummies, aguas frescas, tostilocos and other sweet treats.

When asked about how she makes the chile gummies, Fuentes assured  that her gummies are always fresh. “We make candy on demand here if you want it, but it doesn’t taste the same. It does have to marinate for 24 hours. I don’t want people getting stale candy, that’s why I make new candy every two to three days. I don’t want to be like those stores where the candy’s been sitting on the shelf for days.” she says. There are several ways to obtain the gummies without visiting in person, including the business’ online store and Doordash delivery. ChilOSO is something she has seen growing just as much as she has seen her children grow, and sometimes balancing motherhood and a business is still a struggle Fuentes faces. 

Fuentes doesn’t have enough foot traffic to employ a full time team of employees, but she sometimes has help from others when she is doing a pop up in other locations. Most of the time however, Fuentes is the one who opens and closes ChilOSO. On occasion, Fuentes reminisces  and sees what could have been. “Running a business and being a mom is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Yeah, I love being a mother. I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but I will say I passed up many opportunities because I am a mother. I’d probably be in a lot higher position if I wasn’t a mother. So, yeah, it’s hard.” But amidst the challenges that come with being a business owner and parent, Fuentes is glad to see some of her goals met.

Beside her store in Northridge, Fuentes also attends the Northridge Farmers Market every Wednesday. She still has plans for expanding the ChilOSO brand, such as getting a food trailer which will allow her to vend in different areas around the San Fernando Valley and possibly sell her candies in commercial stores such as Vallarta and Northgate Gonzalez markets. 

When asked what advice she would give to latina business owners she said , “Don’t give up. I mean, 10 years later, and I’m still not where I want to be. I’m still acquiring things for my business. So it’s not overnight, you know, success, it takes a very long time. You have to love what you do, or you won’t succeed.”