I scream, you scream, we all scream for… pickles? Well you will once you taste Te Ne Exotic Pickles at this year’s Taste of Soul (TOS). If you thought a pickle could only be sour, salty or sweet—think again. Now it can be apple, cherry or bubble gum.
Shaneatha Sutton and Tina Trisby have taken the traditional dill pickle to a whole other plane of existence. The two ladies had a mutual friend who brought back a flavored pickle from a trip. When Sutton finally tasted the pickle, she got an idea.
“I looked at [Trisby] and I said, ‘I think we can do this’,” said Sutton. “I never asked what was in it, what it was and came up with multiple flavors.”
Established in April 2016, Te Ne Exotic Pickles is looking to make an impression at TOS with their unique product.
“They are whole dill, jumbo pickles and they are skinless, we peel all the skin off of them,” said Trisby. “Then we marinate them in our secret sauces, like a Kool-Aid but we add a little twist to it.”
Who would have thought a dill pickle could taste just like a sour apple jolly rancher? Well that’s exactly what it tasted like to the Sentinel staff when Te Ne Exotic Pickles brought their apple-flavored pickles to the office.
They also have other flavors like strawberry, peach-mango, pineapple-mango, watermelon, blueberry-lemonade, mixed berry, cotton candy, orange- tangerine and more.
The pickle ladies are at the post office located at Central and Gage three times a week and are developing a following of Te Ne Exotic Pickle lovers. They’re also taking their candy pickles around to other post offices and DMVs in the South Los Angeles area. On customers’ response to their product, Sutton says they are a hit.
“They love them, they say they are addicted,” said Sutton.
The ladies are excited as this will be there first time attending TOS as vendors. They are looking forward to making fans out of TOS Nation with their delectable pickles. The pickle ladies are ready to meet everyone and share the pickle love.
“We got something that they will want to taste in the city of Los Angeles,” said Trisby.
“It’s different, there is nothing out here like it—nothing,” said Sutton.
You can find Te Ne Pickles on Facebook and look for them at Taste of Soul on Oct. 15.
