La comida is the cornerstone of a lot of traditions within the Latino and Latine communities. Whether it is coquito or tamales for las Navidades or habichuela con dulce for Semana Santa, food is vital. Food means community.
The below 10 food brands understand the importance of honoring your cultural food traditions in every bite. They’ve either found an exciting way to infuse candies with iconic flavor profiles or they’ve paved the way for folks with food sensitivities to enjoy their favorite foods. Check them out and don’t forget to shop Latino and Latine.
Guayakí Yerba Mate
The cornerstone of yerba mate is community — something Guayakí seeks to honor with every sip. Guayakí Yerba Mate was established by Argentina-born Alex Pryor and California-born David Karr with the goal of “building a business that would be a force for positive change in the world.”
Tamalitoz by Sugarox
While it’s made using traditional Mexican flavors, Tamalitoz takes a fun approach to how it infuses every delicious bite. Created by a husband and husband team, Mexican-born Jack and British-born Dec, as a way to bring the joy of Mexican candy (or sweets) to the world.
Brazi Bites
The Brazilian food brand got its start with its cheese bread bites — an ode to Brazil’s Pão de Queijo — in 2009 with co-founders Junea and her husband Cameron. Since then, Brazi Bites now offers things like waffles and pizza snacks (all gluten-free).
Loisa
The New York-born seasoning brand was “hecho con cariño” with the goal of infusing tradition and iconic flavor profiles while leaving out all the bad stuff. Their product lines include sofrito, sazón, adobo, and an additional line of individual organic spices. Loisa also has kitchenware sets that include a tostonera, mortar and pestle, mashers, skimmers, and a pasteles paper and string set.
SOMOS Foods
Co-founders and friends Miguel, Rodrigo, and Daniel wanted to create a food brand that honored their Mexican heritage but more importantly, the food their mamás used to make them. SOMOS offers salsas, Mexican chili crisps, rice packs, bean packs, and veggie entrees. All of their products are plant-based, gluten-free, and certified non-GMO.
Frescos Naturales
This beverage brand was born out of a father’s need to provide his son with something he had grew up drinking. Frescos Naturales blend beloved Latin American flavors like rosa de jamaica, maracuya, and guayaba to create the most refreshing agua frescas around.
Pisqueya
Much like the Dominican culture that inspired it, Pisqueya sauces and seasonings are a party of flavor in a bottle. When creating her food brand, founder and CEO Maritza Abreu wanted to do something that was indicative of her culture and celebrated all it meant to be Latino and Latine.
Chuza
There’s no denying the importance that chile has within the Mexican food scene. From mango sprinkled with chile to tostadas con chile, it’s the perfect way to top off any meal. Chuza’s snacks come in spicy mango, spicy apricot, and spicy nopal, to name a few.
Siete Foods
Whether it’s the one we are born into or the one we choose, the support we get from our family can be life-changing. For Veronica Garza, finding foods that supported her autoimmune conditions and also honored her heritage were far and few between.
So, she, along with her family, created a brand that she and others who experienced her food sensitivities needed. From chips to tortillas to seasonings and sweets, Siete Foods offers a wide array of options that are gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, soy-free, non-GMO, and vegan.
Agua Bonita
Agua Bonita‘s Kayla Castañeda created her beverage brand as something that was “reflective” of her culture and honored her abuelo’s legacy of minimizing food waste. Using real fruit, her agua frescas come in flavors like watermelon chile, pineapple cucumber, and hibiscus.
