At Nochiola we are proud to be a brand founded by a Mexican woman.
We believe in the power of unity and support networks among women, that is why we are talking about some of the women with projects that we admire, such as: Lesly Bonilla from The Functional Foods, Mariana Quiroga from La Otilia, Lupita Vidal from La Cevichería Tabasco , the sommelier Laura Santander, Nunzia Rojo de la Vega, Inés Willis, Sofía Toraño; among other.
We start with the profile of Mariana Quiroga de La Otilia
What led you to create your own project?
"I had been working in marketing, advertising and event production agencies for several years. But there came a time when my ambition to create new things ran into the limits of the guidelines of large companies. Therefore, I already felt that I had to create something myself. but I still didn't know what. And that sign that I was looking for came when I was living in Madrid, where I was diagnosed with celiac disease, and my life took a 360 turn. I had to learn to eat again, I got so involved in my change and in my new diet that I realized that I was not the only one that needed to have options beyond the kitchen at home, for example, ordering food at home or having social outings with friends, are things in our daily lives that become really difficult for people with food intolerances like me.This is what prompted me to create La Otilia as my life project, to give an option and specialized advice to all those people with intolerances and restrictions, or simply ment to all those who want to improve their eating habits.
How do you drive and are driven by other women?
I always try to promote women who bring interesting projects: either through my social networks, with "expert minds" interviews that we have been doing for a while from Otilia's IG account, or simply by consuming their products or putting them up for sale on La Otilia without paying too much attention to the profit they can generate. Personally, I like to give opportunities to women who seek to gain a foothold in our market and areas of influence; And professionally, I have no doubt that this help will always end up giving me something good at some point in life.
What women inspire you?
3. It is difficult for me to choose a list of women who inspire me or have inspired me at crucial moments in my life, especially coming from a family of almost all women. Of course, I put my mother first, and also my grandmothers - the name of my business is in honor of my grandmother Otilia, who suffered from celiac disease like me - In addition, I have been lucky to make great friends within the business where I move Those entrepreneurial friends, and already successful businesswomen, inspire me every day and help me with their talks whenever I have doubts about where to focus my business or about how to combine my personal and professional life.