La Bonita Ole: Save The Tortillas Campaign

Tampa-based La Bonita Ole announced the launch of their “Save The Tortillas” campaign on Friday. With the present state of the 17-year-old tortilla company in danger, President and CEO Tammy Young is launching the effort to save her business.

La Bonita Ole filed voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2008. And through the bankruptcy, they have been able to stay afloat. But control of the company could be shifted away from Young by SunTrust Bank, who plans to sell the company.

Image: Newscom

“We do believe, had we been in a normal banking environment, our company probably wouldn’t be in the situation we are now,” said Young. “We had growing pains that prompted us to borrow money for capital. Thankfully, SunTrust provided that need through an unsecured $1.0M loan. When the world financial crisis hit, SunTrust and all other banks evaluated their loan portfolios. SunTrust determined they needed La Bonita Ole, Inc. to find funding to remove their unsecured exposure. The company has made and continues to make every agreed upon payment since the first day of all of its loans with SunTrust.”

Young hopes the Save The Tortilla campaign will generate enough public support for La Bonita Ole before the judgment court date — August 19, 2009. Young hopes the judge and SunTrust would decide to allow the loans to stay in the SunTrust portfolio.

Using a freshly created microsite at savethetortillas.com, as well as many social media channels, the campaign aims to raise awareness and invite fans to show their support through petitions and more. The campaign is using YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Image: savethetortillas.com (screen capture)

Young started the company in 1992 with $13,000 in savings. The company now supplies retailers in 28 states and does over $12 million in sales. I don’t know if the plea to the public through this campaign will be able to save her company, but you have to appreciate the effort, ingenuity and use of social media to her attempt.