Anita’s Mexican Foods
Anita’s Mexican Foods Corp., with headquarters in San Bernardino, CA, has grown through the years, serving as a manufacturer of tortilla chips, tortillas and taco shells for retail and foodservice, and has emerged as a primary contract manufacturer of popped/extruded pellet snacks in the industry. For the full story on Anita’s, see “A history of excellence at Anita's Mexican Foods.”
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Anita’s Mexican Foods is a major manufacturer of puffed/extruded pellet snacks for dozens of branded and private label lines across the U.S.—a celebration of successful business diversification that company founder Mauro Robles couldn’t have predicted nearly 60 years ago when he founded his small tortilla-making business in East Los Angeles.
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“Mauro Robles’ story is a testament to hard work, a keen business sense without the benefit of a college education and the pursuit of the American dream,” says Mauro Gomez, vice president, sales and marketing. “He left his home state of Zacatecas in 1952 to work at American railroad yards under the Bracero Program.” The program brought many Mexican workers north to help fill labor gaps in the U.S. workforce. Mauro Robles earned his U.S. citizenship—and set down roots in his new country. He met his future wife, Estela, in a small market owned by Estela’s father. “Armed with big ambitions and $5,000 in savings, Mauro Robles opened a small tortilla-making business on May 4, 1958 in East Los Angeles,” says Gomez. He dubbed the business La Reina, Spanish for “The Queen.” His primary customers were mom-and-pop restaurants. The business grew, and in 1961 he moved to a new plant, still in East Los Angeles.
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Hard work and smart business sense has paid off through the years. Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery magazine named Anita’s Mexican Foods its “Tortilla Manufacturer of the Year” in 2006, bringing the company to the attention of the U.S. snack and bakery market at large. Today, the company is led by (left to right): Mauro Gomez, vice president, sales and marketing; Jackie Robles, general manager; Ricardo Robles, CEO/president; and Rene Robles, vice president, operations.
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La Reina is the bakery arm of the Anita’s Mexican Foods business, producing artisan tortilla products largely geared for the foodservice market in Los Angeles. It offers authentic, hand-stretched tortillas in options like Traditional, Cilantro & Jalapeño, Purple Corn and Street-Style. Customers can specify a wide range of flavors, sizes and thicknesses for corn or flour tortillas.
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The facility Anita’s Mexican Foods operates in San Bernardino, CA is 145,000 square feet and houses six production lines for its 275 employees.
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Tortillas have long been at the heart of the business. But initially, the company was called La Reina (Spanish for “The Queen”). The Robles family bought San Bernardino’s Anita’s Mexican Foods, in 1978. Anita’s Mexican Foods was owned by the Marquez family since the 1930s, and at the time of purchase, they were mutual customers with La Reina. “They were multigenerational also, just like us,” says Ricardo Robles, CEO/president. “We were purchasing corn tortillas from them. They were buying flour tortillas from us. It was a nice relationship.”
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“We most recently introduced mini taco shells,” says Mauro Gomez, vice president, sales and marketing. “These items help meet the demand of consumers watching their portion sizes and looking for better-for-you products.” The mini hard taco shells are available in Original, Blue Corn, Ancient Grain, Jalapeño and Sweet Potato.
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The specialty tortilla chips business at Anita’s Mexican Foods offers a wide range of customization capabilities. Ingredient choices include sesame seeds, flax seeds, black bean flakes, jalapeño flakes and more. The available range of flours for its snacks and tortillas includes the usual corn and flour, but also coconut, bean, vegetable, tapioca and others.
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Anita’s Mexican Foods had a carved a nice niche with its tortilla business, but expansion further afield beckoned. “More than 20 years ago, after a national competitor began taking a bite of the Robles’ market, Anita’s became pioneers in an untapped niche for healthier, gluten-free, corn-based products, which now accounts for a considerable chunk of its revenues,” says Mauro Gomez, vice president, sales and marketing. This includes is expanded pellet snack business. “As early as 1987, the company introduced organic blue, white and yellow corns and began using suppliers of only GMO-free corn,” he says.
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The extruded offerings from Anita’s Mexican Foods have gained significant ground over the years. Today, the company produces a range of pellet snacks made from multigrain blends, potato, corn and vegetables. Its capabilities for shapes include squares, straws, sticks, ripples and twists it can make snacks for the organic, gluten-free, non-GMO, kosher and natural market. Mauro Gomez, vice president, sales and marketing notes that the convenience store and warehouse/club retail channels have begun seeking more better-for-you pellet snack products. “We’ve seen a push for different shapes and sizes—and unique flavors.”