La Costeña (food company)
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 peppers 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. 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, Minnesota 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 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.