Freddie Gutierrez grew up in the dirt. Not in the metaphorical sense, but literally in the fields of southwestern Arizona, in the shadow of a father who never sat still and a mother who poured her soul into every harvest.
His earliest memories aren’t of toys or cartoons. They’re of running water jugs to his siblings while they pulled weeds in the scorching sun, of ducking under the truck for a sliver of shade, and of watching his father build a life out of dust with nothing but bare hands, faith, and fight.
“My job was just bringing water,” Freddie says. “That’s what I could do. I was little. But I watched everything. And I knew, even then, this wasn’t just a job. This was our life.”
Before there was a jojoba farm, before there was a business, there was a journey. It started in 1959, when Freddie’s father, Daniel Gutierrez, left Jalisco, Mexico through the temporary worker permit program. He came alone. He worked the cotton fields of Imperial Valley, then citrus fields in Yuma. He returned home briefly, then came back, again and again, driven by the same force that defines the American dream: an unrelenting desire to build something better for his family.
In the late ’70s, jojoba farming was just beginning in Arizona. Daniel got in on the ground floor. No one handed him anything… he learned by watching, doing, breaking, fixing. An Arizona-based jojoba pioneer.
“He picked up everything… How to grow it, irrigate it, harvest it. He was a student of the land,” reflects Freddie.
Freddie’s beloved mom stood beside her husband the entire way. She wasn’t behind the scenes- she was in the scene. In the field. Picking by hand. Hauling buckets. Fixing lines. Keeping the family fed. Keeping the faith strong.
“My mom was our backbone. She didn’t complain. She worked just as hard, and when we came home from school, it wasn’t time to relax… it was time to get in the truck and head to the farm.”
There were no shortcuts. No days off. No air conditioning. Just work and the warmth of being together. Freddie and his siblings all had a role… driving tractors, fixing equipment, and working the harvesters. They’d go from schoolbooks to shovel handles and their mom made sure they never lost sight of why they were doing it: to plant roots for generations to come.
“She showed us what real strength looks like.”
That kind of love- the kind that suffers quietly and gives endlessly- is the soul of Jalisco Jojoba. You won’t find it on the label. But it’s there, in every drop.
“My mom loved her lotions,” Freddie remembers. “She took pride in how she cared for her skin. And when she got sick, when she was going through chemo, we had to be so careful about what she used. We read every label. That changed everything for me. It made me realize we’re not just selling oil. We’re responsible for what people are putting on their bodies… it had to be clean, and it had to be the best.”
That commitment- to purity, honesty, and doing it right- is what makes Jalisco Jojoba different. While Freddie’s mom has since passed, it’s still family-run. Still grown on their Arizona land. Still harvested with care and pressed without chemicals, solvents, or shortcuts.
“We don’t bleach the oil, don’t deodorize it, and don’t mask the natural color or scent. What you get is pure jojoba. The real thing. What most people don’t realize? Many of the Valley’s top resort spas are using our Jalisco Jojoba, and we’re expanding availability this fall.”
Today, Jalisco Jojoba spans 280 acres of active farmland outside Dateland with new acres being added every year. (Stop by for a tour!) They’re rebuilding their greenhouses from the ground up, raising the next generation of jojoba plants with precision, passion and patience.
“It takes five years for a jojoba plant to produce. You don’t do this if you’re looking for a quick return… You do this if you believe in the future.”
Freddie now leads the business with his wife and kids, and still sits at the table with his brother, his sister, and his dad. They make decisions as a unit. Marketing, expansion, equipment… everything is discussed over family dinners, just like it was when they were kids riding home in the back of the pickup.
“We do everything as a family. That’s the greatest gift… getting to grow this together.”
And growing they are.
As they expand their offerings- direct-to-consumer bottles to wholesale gallons, barrels, and totes for cosmetic companies around the world- Freddie is laser-focused on two things: preserving the integrity of the oil, and honoring the people who made it possible.
“I want people to know they’re supporting something real. You’re supporting my mom and dad. You’re supporting a Mexican-American story built from dirt. You’re supporting tradition.”
Sure, the business is evolving, but the soul behind it… the hustle, the hands, the boy beneath the truck… remains exactly the same.
“We want it to stand for what it always did. Hard work. Dedication. And the best jojoba oil in the world.”
jaliscojojoba.com
“My mom was our backbone. She showed us what real strength looks like.”