Meet Jeff & Destiny Elkin | Scientist & Foodie made in matrimony

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeff & Destiny Elkin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeff & Destiny, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My wife and I consider ourselves foodies. We are always looking for the next restaurant to try out, or the next dish we have to make, or the newest flavor mashup thats trending. It’s a slight obsession, but one that never gets old.

For ChaMoiBoi, it all started with a night of cocktails. After all, drinking is the best way to have great ideas… right? Destiny and her sister were pretending to be mixologists and were thinking up new ways to enhance their favorite cocktails. One thought was to spruce up the rim with flavors and garnishes that either complimented or contrasted the drink profile. Chamoy is nothing new to this realm and was a top result when searching ideas, however, when they started to dabble with items off the shelf, they quickly realized that the chamoy selections out there all felt either watery or tasted “artificial.” So, they decided to make their own. After a little bit of trial and error and some playful flavor tests, they had a mixture that was nothing like the rest, and would instantly bring you back to being a kid on the street corner sucking on a Pulparindo candy from the local candy cart.

While that night didn’t seem like much of anything initially, it was later that weekend when we introduced the chamoy they had made to our friends where we suddenly had the “eureka” moment as everyone swarmed to it and emptied the tub in minutes. It was the talk of the party and the only thing people were asking us about even weeks later. We knew we had something special.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
At ChaMoiBoi, we believe that food plays a very important role in our culture and community. Food isn’t just rich in flavors, but in history. For example, did you know that to this day there is still much debate on the origins of chamoy? While it is considered a Mexican cuisine there is also a very large argument that it is from Asian origins and their various techniques of drying fruits such as plums and apricots (key ingredients) that merged over generations of immigration. It’s why we chose the name “ChaMoiBoi” as it isn’t just fun to say but serves as a homage to the blending of cultures. We love the idea of people coming together around food, like our chamoy, and making up new creations, maybe starting up new conversations, and even making new memories, all while maintaining a sense of tradition.
Our business takes pride in making our chamoy a more traditional way, with simple ingredients and placing quality above shelf life. We feel that while history should play an important role in the ingredients used, it shouldn’t limit new possibilities and applications of our product. We love seeing our product used in both traditional ways as well as by people who want to push the boundaries with our product. We encourage our customers to post their favorite creations on our Instagram (@cha_moi_boi) and love seeing the applications. Our customers put it on everything! We see it on beers, seltzers, smoothies, bloody mary’s, fruit platers, ice cream, hot brie, charcuterie boards, you name it! Our customers have proved that ChaMoiBoi is so much more than the typical “rim paste” you would find at any store. While it is still an effective way to stick Tajin to a glass, our chamoy is more. It is something sweet, something sassy, something to elevate your next creation. It is another “excuse” to bring us all together.
In terms of where we are as a business, we still are very young. We love seeing our customers posting things because we still want to learn from them and adapt. Being the foodies that we are, we love testing new flavors, but we also need to recognize that there is a balance between what we want to create and what the customer is wanting to purchase. We are also quickly learning that branding IS HARD. We understand that while a unique flavor is your selling point, the brand image is your identity and ours is still developing. Also, consistency is key both in your product and on your social media. We have been very fortunate to have help on posting amazing material on a consistent basis.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Now, on behalf of ChaMoiBoi, we might be a little biased on our recommendations out here as we would love for our guests to have access to our products at the same time! Therefore, our recommendations would be to swing by Oceanside and check out the crazy good tacos at Sanchos Tacos (I personally love the Federale) or go for the California burrito down the street at Senor Grubby’s! If Mexican isn’t the craving, you can grab some fresh sushi from It’s Tabu Sushi in San Marcos. We love the cilantro roll with the lemon zest on top! If that’s not what you’re looking for, how about a hot and cheesy pizza at Tony Pepperoni in Escondido? On Tuesdays they have bingo! All these locations offer wonderful food, service, and our chamoy at the bar!
In terms of things to check out… it is nearly impossible to isolate a few things to recommend in San Diego. There is just so much always going on here! We are so fortunate to call it home. We suppose the big-ticket items must be mentioned, as they are what bring people to our coast in the first place. Therefore, we recommend setting some time aside to visit the Safari Park, Zoo, Sea World, the USS Midway, Petco Park, Legoland, or the Birch Aquarium! All are beautiful, unique, and family friendly.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We would love to shoutout Krystin Watson of Moovin’ On Up Tallow! Krystin and Jeff attended community college together and have managed to keep in touch over the years, checking in on big life events. One such coincidental event was starting up a business! After receiving that wonderful recognition from you, Krystin was instantly ready to share the spotlight with us, and for that we are extremely grateful!

We would also love to shout out our friends and family who have been extremely supportive (and our best customers) as we continue to grow and mature as a company.

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