Vanessa Gongora joined KGUN 9 as a multimedia journalist in December of 2024. Born and raised in Southern California, her move to Tucson means she's not too far away from home.
There’s so much excitement in Tucson with the Arizona Wildcats making it to the Final Four . Now, one local candy company is giving fans a sweet way to celebrate. Tanna's Botannas , a locally owned Mexican snack shop, with two locations in Tucson, is selling spicy strawberry and pineapple candies featuring U of A logos and mascots Wilbur and Wilma on the packaging.
Salvador Martinez, the director of sales and distribution for Tanna's Botannas, says it took over a year to make the partnership with the school happen.'We think it was fate that dropped during the time of March Madness right before the Sweet 16. So quite honestly, we couldn't have thought of a better time. There's no way we could have planned this, and we're just so, so excited about it,' Martinez said.The company is owned by Tanna Cole. She started her business in 2020 first selling products from her mom's house, then upgraded to a food truck, to now having her very own brick-and-mortar.'Tanna's a bit creative and she has a plethora of items to choose from at our snack shop so it goes from all the way ice cream to our own puro ice products that we sell and then we have our main line of product candies that we sell to stores,' Martinez said.Martinez says the process to get the licensing to partner with the U of A was a long process, but the wait was worth it.'We wanted everything to be perfect. We obviously we had regulations that we needed to follow up with the university. So we needed to make sure we followed all that and then coming up with the correct candy. It was a lot of back and forth with the licensing department what do you guys think, we like this candy, this candy, and it took a long time and then finally placing the order with our new bag design that we're dropping in about one week,' Martinez said.'We did it all together so that way we could get it as soon as possible and then finally get it manufactured and then they got stuck at customs for the last three months, so that delayed us a little bit longer but it's fine.'On the back of the packaging, Tanna explains how these two products are especially close to her heart.'My grandpa, Dennis Wasko — the biggest U of A fan I've ever know — was also the biggest supporter of Tanna's Botannas. His pride in both our roots and our hometown lives on in every bite. I know he'd be proud to see this moment. Whether you're tailgating, studying, or at the game — this one's for you.'U of A Students stopped by Tanna's Botannas table on campus Monday night to check out the spicy candies made for the Wildcats.'I think it’s really fun. I feel like there’s been lots of cool things that I’ve been seeing since they have gone so far and it’s just kind of fun,' senior Kenna Harrington said.The special U of A collaboration channels Tucson's energy as the Wildcats surge into the Final Four.'We watched the last game and we are very excited for Saturday. We said the week cannot go fast enough,' senior Zoe Bertino said.Senior Emily Legard also chiming in saying if the team takes home the championship, it would mean even more because she's wrapping up her college career. 'Also we’re seniors so I think it’s really exciting that it’s our last year and they’re going so far. So hopefully they’ll win it all,' Emily Legard said.The Wildcat goodies can be found in about 30 stores across Southern Arizona, and stores on campus will have them in stock by August. 'We're already pushing them out all the way to Patagonia, Sahuarita, Marana, so we're getting there. We're trying to get them to as many stores as quickly as we can,' Martinez said. He said even though the product just dropped about a week ago, the orders are coming in hot. 'So we had about 200 cases to deliver in about a day after I finally got like an official order from all of them and we finally got it all done. We had about 200 cases to go deliver between about 20 stores,' Martinez continued.He says prices vary throughout each store but are reasonable. If you're traveling to the Final Four game, keep an eye for these delicious treats.'We're figuring out all the logistics with the licensing team, so they're gonna be taking it up there for us and they're gonna be selling at the alumni area,' Martinez said.If you want to get your hands on the special U of A spicy candies, check out Tanna's Botannas Instagram to see if there's a location near you.Martinez says more products will also be rolling out soon featuring the U of A. This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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