SCARBOROUGH — La Cebolla Roja has launched a Kickstarter campaign to keep the production of its products in  Scarborough.

Local resident Christina Charette launched La Cebolla Roja Jan. 1, 2018, out of her home kitchen. La Cebolla Roja specializes in making pickled red onions. The company sells two flavors, Sweet&Tangy and Hot&Spicy.

According to the company website, red onions were not always a staple on Charette’s dining room table.

“If you would have told me years ago to eat a red onion, I would have told you ‘No thank you. Not a fan,'” according to the website “But after a friend brought a jar of pickled red onions over to my home, as a compliment to a cheese dish, I was hooked. I immediately started making them myself and began putting them on EVERYTHING! Soon, the girl who hated onions became known as The Pickled Red Onion Lady. And there, the idea was born to fully embrace the title and convert other onion disliking people to the wonderful flavor of the pickled red onion.”

She said getting the company off the ground hasn’t been easy.

“When it comes to specialty food co-packers, the state is very limited,” Charette said. “We ended up talking to co-packers in New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. Either it was too expensive or too labor intensive. Not to mention the logistics of getting the product back to Maine.”

After spending the summer of 2019 searching for a co-packer, La Cebolla Roja decided to lay down roots in Scarborough and keep the production in-house. The new location and expansion project have led the company to search for alternative means to raise capital. The company launched the Kickstarter campaign on Feb. 8; they have 30 days to raise $18,100.

This is an all or nothing campaign, according to Charette. She said she hopes to use the funds to pay for kitchen equipment needed to outfit their space.

For more information on the campaign visit http://kck.st/2ut0jMY or https://www.kickstarter.com/ and search La Cebolla Roja.

La Cebolla Roja products can be found in various locations around the country, including Texas, Iowa, Maryland, Virginia, throughout most of New England and many other states, according to the company’s website. Scarborough locations where the company’s pickled onions can be purchased include: Lois Natural, On The Vine, The Cheese Iron and Hannaford.

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