Ask someone in Louisiana if they’re familiar with “The Red Can” and chances are they’ll know exactly what you’re talking about: Cajun Nation’s Cajun seasoning blend.
“We have coined ourselves, ‘Cajun Nation, your community brand,’ and we live on that. We stand on that,” says Alfonzo Bolden, who is co-CEO of the Cajun Nation Cajun Seasoning Company with his brother, Troy.
Cajun Nation’s seasoning is now sold in 80 Walgreens locations in Louisiana, with the goal of getting into 100 stores. But the story behind the seasoning is a personal one for Alfonzo, one that is particularly timely in May for High Blood Pressure Education Month.
The story starts with Alfonzo and Troy growing up on a sugarcane plantation along the Cajun Coast in Southwest Louisiana. Both attended college and served in the U.S. Army during Operation Desert Storm. Even though they often talked about owning their own business together, after serving in the Army, they ended up on different career paths in different states with Alfonzo pursuing logistics and Troy pursuing nursing. Hurricane Katrina ultimately reunited the brothers and their families, back where it all began in Southwest Louisiana.
It was the health of one of those family members, Alfonzo’s wife, Debra, which ultimately led the brothers to where they are today. A few years ago, she was the owner of a cleaning business and paid a visit to one of her clients who happened to be a retired doctor. She mentioned to the doctor that she felt as if “her heart was going to jump out of her chest,” Alfonzo says. The doctor took her pulse and told her she needed to get to a hospital.
“She was eventually diagnosed with Graves’ disease, and had developed a blood clot in her lung,” Alfonzo says. Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disease that can cause an overactive thyroid.
Debra also developed high blood pressure at the time, something she’d never had before, and her doctors told her she needed to go on a low sodium diet.
“So one night she says to me, ‘You should make a low-sodium seasoning,’” Alfonzo recalls.
After doing some preliminary research, he called up his brother, Troy, to talk out the idea. Troy thought it would be a great opportunity to make something delicious and heart healthy.
The brothers got to work with a blending company to get the seasoning just right, making sure it had bold Cajun flavors such as onion, garlic and black pepper, but minimal salt. They also left out MSG from the mix since that ingredient can also affect blood pressure, Alfonzo says.
Once they had the seasoning ready, they tested it out in their community.
“To our astonishment, people had been looking for a low-sodium option,” Alfonzo says. “It was needed in the community.”
Not long after “The Red Can” started popping up in local shops, the product came on Charlene Christopher’s radar. A 25-year Walgreens team member, Christopher was the regional merchandising manager for Louisiana at the time and a Louisiana native. When she started calling around to her relatives to see if they knew about Cajun Nation and “The Red Can,” they certainly did.
“So I had the brothers send me some samples of the seasoning, and the flavors were very consistent to the flavors I was used to having in local Louisiana dishes like gumbo, étouffée and jambalaya,” she says. “And it tasted even better without all the sodium. I thought this product would be a win-win for Walgreens.”
Even though the Bolden brothers created their seasoning with Debra in mind, what they found was an entire community craving Cajun flavors without all the salt. The community has clearly grown, with Walgreens now carrying the product in Louisiana stores, but the brothers still prioritize their local community daily. They sponsor local children’s sports teams, show up at community events and, with Troy’s connections in healthcare, they even support health education initiatives.
And having “The Red Can” at home is even helping Alfonzo himself cook and eat a bit healthier.
“I just saw my wife shaking ‘The Red Can’ on her eggs this morning,” Alfonzo says. “It feels good to see how it all came full circle.”
To learn more about Cajun Nation seasoning, go to Cajun-Nation.com.
