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Conservas La Costeña, usually called La Costeña, is a Mexican brand of canned products. It was founded in 1923 by Vicente López Recines. The company has become an important brand inside and outside Mexico. Nowadays, La Costeña sells its products across Mexico and in 40 countries around the world. While all its products in the beginning were chilies, the company later began producing new products such as beans, ketchup, vegetables and others. The production plants have been modified also, in addition there is the fact that the factories have won some recognitions for the changes in technology and process.


History

La Costeña was founded in 1923 by Vicente López Recines. He bought a little grocery shop called “La Costeña” where he began preparing
chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...
s in vinegar. He packaged and sold chilies in 20-kilogram jars with alcohol so that they could last longer. By 1937 López decided to make his own jar company; this decision changed the business. In 1948, he founded the principal factory in
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
. It has an area of five thousand square meters. The new production plant counted on forklift trucks and transport units; as a consequence the business continued growing up and increasing their distribution territory. The business began its industrialization with the application of the first automatic production line with 3-kilogram cans in 1951. Four years later the company installed an automatic production line to making 105-gram cans, moreover the distribution inside the country began. By 1971 the factory moved to Ecatepec with a facility of 180,000 square meters. Since then this facility has increased by 70 thousand square meters. In 1975 the company entered the U.S. market. The company continued growing and by 1991 it had founded a new production plant in Sonora for the production of ketchup, vegetables, and more. In 1994 a new plant was built in San Luis Potosí. In 2006 a new project about a completely automatic plant began; this new plant would work with robots; this creation represents a better and faster production with more quality. In 2014, La Costeña acquired the American canning company Faribault Foods, founded in 1895. In 2015, La Costeña announced it would triple Faribault Foods manufacturing and warehouse space in Faribault, MN to nearly 1 million square ft. over the next three years. The Faribault brands include S&W beans, SunVista beans and sauces, Luck's beans,
KC Masterpiece KC Masterpiece is a barbecue sauce that is marketed by the HV Food Products Company, a subsidiary of the Clorox Company. History KC Masterpiece Barbeque Sauce was created in 1977 by Richard E. "Rich" Davis M.D., a child psychiatrist practicin ...
baked beans, Mrs. Grimes chili beans, Kuner's of Colorado vegetables, Kern's nectar, Butter Kernel vegetables, ChilliMan chili, Pride vegetables and Totis snacks.


Distribution

Since its creation (1923), La Costeña's market share and reach have been core business interests; as a result, the territory served by the company has continued to grow. Inside Mexico, La Costeña products are sold by small and large shops in every state. To service them, there are thirty distribution centers located in key cities throughout Mexico. There are also two international distribution centers, one each serving North America and Europe; products are also sold by independent and chain groceries throughout the world. There are three Mexican production plants (in
State of Mexico The State of Mexico ( es, Estado de México; ), officially just Mexico ( es, México), is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Commonly known as Edomex (from ) to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is ...
,
San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...
and
Guasave Guasave () is a city and the seat of the homonymous municipality in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. It is located in the northwestern part of Mexico, southeast of the city of Los Mochis. It stands at . In the 2010 census, the city reported a popu ...
) creating the brand's products for the various distribution centers. The distribution centers are located in
Yucatán Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the political divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. I ...
,
Tabasco Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It is located in ...
,
Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...
,
Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
,
Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
,
Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
,
Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...
,
State of México The State of Mexico ( es, Estado de México; ), officially just Mexico ( es, México), is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Commonly known as Edomex (from ) to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is ...
,
Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coahuila, a town in the north Mexican state of Coahuila * Hidalgo, Nuevo Le ...
,
Morelos Morelos (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 36 municipalities and its capital city is Cuer ...
(three), Queretaro,
Guanajuato Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...
,
San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...
,
Aguascalientes Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and ...
,
Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...
,
Nuevo León Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...
,
Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...
,
Torreón Torreón () is a city and seat of Torreón Municipality in the Mexican state of Coahuila. As of 2021, the city's population was 735,340. The metropolitan population as of 2015 was 1,497,734, making it the ninth-biggest metropolitan area in the ...
,
Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
,
Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...
,
Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...
, Chihuahua (two),
Baja California Norte Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the Political divisions of Mexi ...
and
Baja California Sur Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...
. As of 2010 the company exported products to 40 countries; to manage this trade it has offices all over the world such as those in Spain and mainland China. According to the trade pape
Entrepreneur''
in the same year La Costeña controlled sixty-nine percent of the world chile market, with sixteen percent of its output going to other countries.


Products

The company has a wide variety of products in different presentations. Their main products are chilies, beans, tomato puree, ketchup, mayonnaise, vegetables, creams and soups, sauces, specialties, vinegar, fruit, jams and marmalades, portion packs, Dona Chonita, Rancherita, and French’s.


Chili peppers

Products include
jalapeño The jalapeño ( , , ) is a medium-sized chili pepper pod type cultivar of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. A mature jalapeño chili is long and hangs down with a round, firm, smooth flesh of wide. It can have a range of pungency, with Scovi ...
s, nacho chilies (slices of jalapeños), jalapeño bits, serrano, serrano slices, rajas rojas, rajas verdes,
tomatillo The tomatillo (''Physalis philadelphica'' and ''Physalis ixocarpa''), also known as the Mexican husk tomato, is a plant of the nightshade family bearing small, spherical, and green or green-purple fruit of the same name. Tomatillos originated ...
s,
chipotle A chipotle (, ; ), or ''chilpotle'', is a smoking (food), smoke-dried ripe jalapeño chili pepper used for seasoning. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican cuisine, Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Tex-Mex cuisine, Tex-Mex and So ...
s, chipotle bits, carrot pieces and long chili peppers.


Beans

Another big part of the products are beans ( black beans and kidney beans). Their presentations can be whole, refried and shattered beans. Some of them can be also mixed with
chorizo Chorizo (, from Spanish ; similar to but distinct from Portuguese ) is a type of pork cured meat originating from the Iberian Peninsula. In Europe, chorizo is a fermented, cured, smoked meat, which may be sliced and eaten without cooking, or ...
, cheese, chipotle and pork rinds, finally the beans can be already prepared from traditional recipes as the
frijoles charros Frijoles charros (cowboy beans) is a traditional Mexican dish. It is named after the traditional Mexican cowboy horsemen, or ''charros''. The dish is characterized by pinto beans stewed with onion, garlic, and bacon. Other common ingredients i ...
or sauce for enfrijoladas (similar to
enchilada An enchilada (, ) is a Mexican dish consisting of a corn tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a savory sauce. Enchiladas can be filled with various ingredients, including meats, cheese, beans, potatoes, vegetables, or combinations. ...
s). However, PROFECO (special institute for the Mexican products quality) found that there was more sodium recommended in some canned beans.


Tomato puree

In tomato puree products one can find four different preparations: tomato puree, condiment tomato puree, condiment fire tomato and chopped peeled tomatoes. These tomato sauces are used to create the base for some Mexican soups and some Mexican dishes. The presentation is done for the ketchup squeeze bottle, ketchup glass bottle, and ketchup style sauce. The squeezy presentation target are kids.


Mayonnaise

In mayonnaise products there are a lot of presentations: the mayonnaise with lemon juice in bottle and squeezy presentations, mayonnaise dressing for salads in bottle and squeeze bottle presentations, light mayonnaise in bottle and squeezy presentations, mayonnaise with jalapeño in bottle and squeezy presentations and mayonnaise with chipotle in bottle and squeezy presentations.


Vegetables

For the vegetables there are five different presentations: golden corn, peas, vegetable salads, peas with carrots, and sliced capsicums.


Soups

In the creams and soups there are a lot of presentations: corn, bean, mushrooms, asparagus, and poblano chill creams. There are also chicken and vegetable, lentil soup, and Jalisco and Guerrero
Pozole Pozole (; from nah, pozoll, meaning '' cacahuazintle'', a variety of corn or maize) is a traditional soup or stew from Mexican cuisine. It is made from hominy with meat (typically pork, but possibly chicken), and can be seasoned and garnished ...
presentations.


In the United States

La Costeña entered the international market in 1975. Since the beginning the U.S. was its principal goal with 90% of La Costeña exports going there. The United States has a large Hispanic population, who are the principal buyers of La Costeña products, however the products have become very popular among the rest of the population with chilies (Jalapeños, nachos, Chipotle, among others) as the best sellers. In June 2006, La Costeña established a production plant in Arizona; the plant was built in 2001 for Slim Fast Foods, however it has closed in 2004. The new plant is on the Interstate 10 freeway, which also connects to Interstate 8, helping distribution to the southern California. As part of the plant production, La Costeña acquired the SunVista brand. After the economic crisis, the company has made reduced sales in the U.S.. Although the economy has since improved, food companies have not yet seen any recovery. Until March 2010 the growth was lower than the growth in 2009. This has driven the company to the search for new markets such as Asian markets. In 2014, La Costeña acquired Faribault Foods; brands include S&W beans, Butter Kernel, Kuner's, Mrs. Grimes, Pride, and Chilliman.


Awards

The company has won many important prizes at national and international levels. In June it won “El Premio Nacional de Logística 2010” (National Logistic Award 2010) for its advances in production, distribution and lower cost; this is the second time it won it, the first was in 2007. They also got the ISO-9002 on October 11, 2010. This prize gives the recognition of standards for quality management systems. Other certificates are ISO 22000, HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points), BRC (British Retail Consortium), IFS (International Food Standard), SQF (Safety Quality Food),
BASC BASC may refer to: * Berkeley APEC Study Center * Berlin Air Safety Center * British Association for Shooting and Conservation * Bulacan Agricultural State College, Philippines * Business Alliance for Secure Commerce See also * Bachelor of Ap ...
(Business Alliance for Secure Commerce). Most of them give the company worldwide recognition.


Charity and charitable

La Costeña provides some of its production and profits to charities, and when there is a natural disaster in the country relief helping affected people with merchandise. First, La Costeña provides some of its products when there is a natural disaster in Mexico or other countries; for example the canned products that were donated to Chile after the earthquakes in 2010. Second, it also participated in charity programas, one example is the contribution made annually to the Teletón event that takes place in Mexico City.


See also

*
Goya Foods Goya Foods, Inc. is an American producer of a brand of foods sold in the United States and many Spanish-speaking countries. It has facilities in the United States, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Spain. It is under third-generation ownersh ...


References


External links


El sabor de la CosteñaLa Costeña home page
(In English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Costena, La Food and drink companies of Mexico Food and drink companies established in 1923 Mexican companies established in 1923 Mexican brands