Goya Foods Ready to Bring Latino Food to the Rest of America

By Julianne Hing Oct 24, 2014

Goya Foods, a mainstay on corner store and supermarket shelves in Latino neighborhoods in the U.S., is making a run for the rest of the country. In California, that means a brand new distribution center nearly four times the size of Goya’s older, nearby center in the City of Industry, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The new facility is part of a $300 million expansion in California, Georgia and Texas as Goya, which sells some 2,400 products, prepares to jump from niche "ethnic" markets to a mainstream audience. With $1.2 billion in sales in 2012, Goya’s already well-positioned to make that leap. Latino foods are expected to become a $10.7 billion yearly market by the year 2017, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The growth of Goya tracks the huge growth of the Latino population in the U.S., as well as a longstanding appetite for Mexican and Latino food from American eaters. In California and New Mexico, Latinos are already the largest ethnic group–outnumbering whites in both states.

Not everyone’s a fan of Goya though. Ubiquitous as they may be, "Using Goya products to cook Mexican cuisine is like making your Cuba Libre with Hornitos," Gustavo Arellano, OC Weekly executive editor and author of "Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America," once wrote in his syndicated column.