We make it hot

We are small batch, husband and wife, hot sauce and pepper jelly producers. Our commercial kitchen is located in Somerton, Arizona. We are located 13 miles north of the Sonora, Mexico border.

Our mission at Mama Bella Hot Sauce, LLC is taming the fantastic flavor of the habanero peppers into delicious hot sauces and jellies.  We provide high-quality products and produce them without any artificial additives and only natural ingredients. We do not claim, nor is it our goal, to have the hottest hot sauces and jellies on the market. Our goal is that your meals will be more enhanced and enjoyable, because you included our products in them! 

My mother, Bella Gloria Gonzalez, was a very health conscious individual but ironically, she refused to step into a doctor's office. She was a distributor and consumer of wellness products. We acknowledged the products she took were very good but as a family we encouraged her to consult with a physician at least for a yearly checkup. Everyone who knew my mother admired the energy and stamina she had. One night in September, 2006 she phoned me and told me she had the sensation something was stuck in her throat and she decided she was going to cough it up no matter what it took. I hurried to her house and recognizing that she needed immediate medical care I rushed her to the emergency room where she was rushed through the system. Within about a week we had a diagnosis of stage 4 squamous (small) cell carcinoma in one of the lungs. She was treated with chemotherapy but as hard as she fought, she succumbed to the illness 7 months later on April 2007 the day she turned 66. For many years my family encouraged me to bottle (can) my habanero salsa. Year after year kept going by and there was an internal fight within me: I knew we had a great product but I also knew it would entail a lot of work. And then the fear of bringing a food product to market overwhelmed me. After my mother's death I began thinking more seriously about this venture. The more I thought of it the more I knew I wanted to honor my mother's memory through whatever I did. I felt I had an even bigger purpose and everything slowly began falling into place. Her favorite color was orange and that is the color of our hot sauce, since the salsas are tomato-less they have the color of the habanero peppers. Although the recipes are mine, my mother loved hot spicy food and always carried peppers in her purse. So, to honor the memory of my mother, my husband Paul and I decided to name the salsa after her. Her grandchildren called her Mama Bella and we knew it was the perfect name for our salsa. Now our salsa had a name and a purpose and maybe if we could share her story, we might encourage someone to seek medical attention when they need it rather than avoiding it. My mother was a very cheerful person and it showed in the bright colors she wore; she never wore black. She also loved to do her hair. As far as I can remember she always wore wigs in many imaginable styles. In her later years she began to dye her hair red. I suggested she dress more comfortably for her chemotherapies. Of course, she would not do that. I had to arrive early and she would tell me which dress, shoes, purse, jewelry, wig, and make up she needed me to help her with. In the fall of 2011, I called the American Lung Association about giving a donation in my mother's name for each jar of hot sauce sold and putting the logo on my jars of hot sauce. I soon found out there were too many legal procedures involved with adding their logo. Then I had a better idea. Why not Yuma's Hospice of Yuma? They were the ones who provided my mother with the bonnets and beautiful wigs through their wig and prosthesis program while she was undergoing treatment. We had chosen to admit my mother to Hospice of Yuma once treatment was no longer an option but she died before that happened. I called and spoke with John Williams; Executive Director of Hospice of Yuma and he was very happy to hear our plans and has worked with us every step of the way. I am very grateful Hospice of Yuma has this wonderful program; it helped my mother feel so much better since dressing up and looking good was a very special part of her life. "She was a real lady", as some of the oncology-staff referred to her. A 3% donation is given every month to Hospice of Yuma in my mother's memory. We want to encourage anyone who has ever thought of doing something like this to do so. A donation even if it is small, but constant, will surely add up to something good. Paul and I, Ana Bella DeAnda, want to extend our gratitude to all who have encouraged us and have shared invaluable input to grow our company.

Who is mama bella?

My mother, Bella Gloria Gonzalez, was a very health conscious individual but ironically, she refused to step into a doctor’s office. She was a distributor and consumer of wellness products. We acknowledged the products she took were very good but as a family we encouraged her to consult with a physician at least for a yearly checkup. 

Everyone who knew my mother admired the energy and stamina she had. One night in September, 2006 she phoned me and told me she had the sensation something was stuck in her throat and she decided she was going to cough it up no matter what it took. I hurried to her house and recognizing that she needed immediate medical care I rushed her to the emergency room where she was rushed through the system. Within about a week we had a diagnosis of stage 4 squamous (small) cell carcinoma in one of the lungs. She was treated with chemotherapy but as hard as she fought, she succumbed to the illness 7 months later on April 2007 the day she turned 66. 

For many years my family encouraged me to bottle (can) my habanero salsa. Year after year kept going by and there was an internal fight within me: I knew we had a great product but I also knew it would entail a lot of work. And then the fear of bringing a food product to market overwhelmed me. (Click on photo to read more!)

Our Hot Sauce

Mama Bella Hot Sauce, LLC processes seven delicious and unique habanero hot sauces and one corn relish/corn salsa. 

At the request of so many of our winter visitor friends, Mama Bella ventured into making pepper jellies.  They have really taken off!  We now make more pepper jellies than hot sauces.  We have also added a few non-pepper jellies such as the Guava Butter and the Strawberry key-lime.  We love adding guavas and key-limes to our line (grown in our own Yuma backyard)!

Besides loving Yuma Arizona’s, almost 365 days of beautiful sunshine, we are so fortunate to be part of this farming community. Yuma, Arizona is known world wide for producing hundreds of crops year round! Some of the amazing crops grown here are the Eureka and Lisbon lemons which we utilize as the preservative in our hot sauces. The lemons not only add a burst of flavor, to our hot sauces but an abundance of shelf-life!

Retail outlets

Original Flavors

Jars Made

% Love infused

Our Community

Thank you to all our friends and family who have stood by us all these years!

Find us at these retail outlets

Contact Us

 

X