Siete Foods Explained

Siete Foods is a US company founded in 2014 by Veronica Garza that makes nontraditional versions of traditional Mexican and Mexican-American ingredients and foods. According to Inc., the company "created a category in grain-free and dairy-free Mexican American staples".

History

The company was founded in Austin, Texas, in 2014 by Veronica Garza, who was diagnosed with autoimmune diseases while in high school and college.[1] [2] [3] Her brother Roberto suggested she try avoiding grains, legumes, and dairy to see if that would help with her symptoms.[4] [5] She found that it did, and her entire family joined her in excluding these items, but all of these were common ingredients in Mexican, Mexican-American, and Tex-Mex cuisines that were a part of the family's typical meals.[6] In particular tortillas, typically included in every meal in these cuisines, were missed.[7]

Garza developed some recipes to create traditional items such as tortillas from nontraditional ingredients, such as almond flour, and started selling them from her home; eventually she was making 50 dozen tortillas in a weekend with the help of her family. In 2014 Austin's Wheatsville Food Co-op started carrying her products. By 2016 the products were being carried by Whole Foods.[8] According to Inc., the company "created a category in grain-free and dairy-free Mexican American staples".

Garza's parents and her four siblings are employees; the company's name, Siete, is the Spanish word for seven, a reference to the seven of them. In 2017, CEO Miguel Garza was named to Forbes' 30 under 30 list.[9] [10]

By 2022 the company was projected to have retail sales of US$250 million and was the fastest-growing Latino/Hispanic food brand in the United States.[11] Forbes pointed out in 2018 that it had been decades since the category had a "challenger [brand] emerge", noting that Ortega was founded in 1897, Old El Paso in 1917, and Goya in 1936.[12]

Products

Products as of 2022 include tortillas, refried beans, tortilla chips, hard taco shells, cookies, seasoning mixes, and hot sauces in 60 stock-keeping units. In 2022 they also produced their first product containing corn, a tortilla chip in collaboration with Nixta, who are dedicated to traditional maize-based products and nixtamilization methods.

The company produced a cookbook, The Siete Table: Nourishing Mexican-American Recipes From Our Kitchen, in 2022.[13]

Juntos fund

The company operates a foundation that provides grants to small Latino/Hispanic food entrepreneurs.[14]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kavehkar . Kimya . 2022-10-10 . Family Is the Foundation of One of the Most Successful Mexican American Food Brands . 2023-01-17 . Texas Monthly . en.
  2. Web site: Huddleston, Jr . Tom . How the Mexican-American family behind Siete's grain-free tortillas hit $200 million in annual sales . 2023-01-18 . CNBC . en.
  3. Web site: Bienasz . Gabrielle . Siete Family Foods CEO Miguel Garza on How to Cook Up an Authentic Brand . Inc..
  4. Web site: Meet the family that changed the way some Americans eat Mexican food: "Tortillas are the centerpiece of the table" . 2023-01-18 . www.cbsnews.com . en-US.
  5. Web site: Texas siblings' grain-free tortillas lead to delicious success . 2023-01-18 . NBC News . en.
  6. Web site: It's a family affair Food Business News . 2023-01-18 . www.foodbusinessnews.net . en.
  7. Web site: Hughes . Chris . 2019-11-01 . Tastemaker of the Month: Veronica Garza from Siete Family Foods . 2023-01-18 . Austin Monthly Magazine . en-US.
  8. Web site: 15 March 2021 . Siete Family Foods: Miguel and Veronica Garza . NPR.
  9. Web site: Sorvino . Chloe . Distribution Surges For Grain-Free Siete Family Foods After Deals With Target, Walmart And Kroger . 2023-01-18 . Forbes . en.
  10. Web site: Miguel Garza . 2023-01-18 . Forbes . en.
  11. Web site: 2022-05-03 . Mexican-American Brand Siete Foods Launches Their 1st Plant-Based Canned Product . 2023-01-18 . VEGWORLD Magazine . en-US.
  12. Web site: Harris . Shayna . Old El Paso: Meet Your Match . 2023-01-18 . Forbes . en.
  13. News: Puckett . Susan . Cookbook review: Abuela-approved dishes for every diet . English . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . 2023-01-18 . 1539-7459.
  14. Web site: 2022-08-07 . Texas company opens national competition to Latino entrepreneurs . 2023-01-18 . KOAA News 5 . en.