It’s been quite a ride for Claude and Gennifer Karam, whose Tualatin-headquartered business, Trazza Foods, has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception in 2011.

That includes its original product line that included only a few offerings to a total of 16 differently packaged products today. Among those products are the company’s original hummus, which has grown to offer a selection of 16 different flavors.

A former airline pilot, Claude Karam didn’t enjoy being frequently absent from his family. As the story goes, when he passed a local grocery store and saw a well-known coffee shop inside, he wondered if a store could feature the authentic traditional Lebanese food he grew up with.

Before long, the family, including their son, Joseph, began experimenting with recipes.

The company begins

“We started it right from the ground. Home kitchen and then from there, very quickly moved to a commercial kitchen, KitchenCru in Portland,” Gennifer Karam said. Those initial items included stuffed grape leaves known as dolmas or mihshi depending on where you live, along with their original hummus, baba ghanouj, tabouleh and baklava.

As things became successful the Karams, who formerly lived in the Bethany area but now call Dundee home, they began turning more attention to their food business. By the end of 2011, Claude Karam was ready to trade in his life as an airline pilot for something closer to home.

Claude Karam said he started to showcase his foods at the former Cedar Mill Bales Marketplace, which is now a small-format Target Store on Cornell Road.

“The people were really positive, receptive,” Claude Karam said of the products. “It was a holiday season, 2011 (or) 2012, and because of the receptivity of the customers, they gave us a slot on the shelf.”

COVID-19 pandemic provides inspiration for new product

Before long, Chuck’s Produce in Washington had picked the products as well.

“So you learn as you go,” Claude Karam said. “We had a vision. But how you get there is you might have an idea but you won’t know until you hit the trench.”

Along the way, Claude Karam learned the success of his products were based in part on the fact the Portland area is filled with foodies already educated about Lebanese foods and want “clean” food — that is, food with no artificial ingredients or additives.

In 2016, Trazza Foods moved into its current 7,000-square-foot, state-of-the art facility at 19870 S.W. 112th Ave., a location that has ensured longer shelf-life and better delivery schedules for their products.

When everyone was stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, Claude Karam came up with an innovative idea — use the products they already have and transform them into packaged family meals that will feed four to six people.

3,000 dolmas a day

A recent tour of the Tualatin facility featured employees busy making dolmas or mihshi, taking flattened grape leaves and filling them with stuffed rice, vegetables and more. The facility makes about 3,000 of them each day.

While the current offerings are doing well, Trazza Foods has also produced its first condiment.

“We recently created a product called Toum (garlic sauce),” Claude Karam said. “It’s in a squeeze bottle.”

He soon discovered that Toum’s natural ingredients create a product with a shelf life of at least six months.

“It’s not like hummus, but I think it’s a good item because you can put it on meat and roasted vegetables and stuff like that,” Claude Karam said. “Mainly, we use it in Lebanon with the chicken shawarma, chicken tawook wrap with pickles. Chicken and french fries is really popular.”

He ended up sending it to the head merchandiser of Whole Foods in Austin, Texas, who Karam said “loved it.”

Expansion is focus of the future

Trazza Foods’ next goal is to move toward national expansion, starting with Washington, Idaho and Montana.

That includes continuing to work with Gourmet Foods International, a specialty foods distributor that represents products found in Fred Meyer, where Trazza Foods already has a presence in 41 stores in the chain. The Karams are also working with UNFI, a larger-scale wholesale distributor.

Claude Karam said pushing forward with expansion goes back to the company’s vision, which includes believing in his products, along with a dedication and driving spirit that keeps him moving forward and waiting for the right time to capitalize on the next opportunity.

He also said they would like to expand in Tualatin, hopefully in less than five years.

“I always like to walk to success, which means don’t over stretch yourself,” he said. “Count your blessings. Seek it. Receive it. Respond to it and succeed with it.”