Amor y Pan
Company description
Amor y Pan is a Brownsville lifestyle market and bakery specializing in keto, paleo, vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, and grain-free breads and desserts — all crafted with a near-zero glycemic index and high fiber content. Its best-known product is an almond flour tortilla, alongside items like low-carb conchitas, chocoflan, and carrot cake cupcakes. The business applied to the very first Startup Texas Pitch Summit in January 2021, sponsored by the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation (BCIC), and has maintained one of the longest, most capital-supported relationships with BCIC found across this set of company profiles.
Founder Karina Saldivar started the business after her brother was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and found that diet — cutting out sugar, grains, gluten, and processed food — was the difference between a good day and a bad one. Drawing on her own pastry and recipe development background, she began creating desserts that could meet those dietary needs without sacrificing taste, and launched the business in May 2019. By the time of her 2021 Startup Texas application, Amor y Pan was operating out of a storefront at 800 N. Expressway 77/83, Suite 16 in Brownsville with six employees, financed in part by a $40,958 loan from PlainsCapital Bank.
Since then, BCIC has backed Amor y Pan's growth repeatedly: a $2,400 Startup Texas event grant in 2022, an eBridge Fund loan in 2023, and — notably — a $300,000 revolving loan later that same year, a substantial vote of confidence reflecting the business's track record. That investment paid off: by 2024–2025, Amor y Pan had expanded beyond its Brownsville storefront to land shelf space at Central Market, H-E-B's upscale grocery chain, across multiple Texas locations, including a new product line called "Chamorganic" — a sugar-free, keto-friendly chamoy made with hibiscus flower, chili, and organic stevia. As Saldivar described the years-long effort to break into major retail in a Valley Business Report feature, it took roughly three years of outreach before an "I know a guy who knows a guy" connection finally opened the door.
Founder: Karina M. Saldivar
Program: 2021 StartUp Texas Pitch Summit
Website: amorypan.co
Facebook: facebook.com/amorypantx
Email: hello@amorypan.co
800 N. Expressway 77/83, Suite 16, Brownsville, TX 78521