Conservas La Costeña, usually called La Costeña, is a Mexican brand dedicated to the canned products market. 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 in almost all the Mexican territory and in 40 countries around the world. In spite of the fact that its products in the beginning were chilies, the company 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.[1] The brand was introduced to the United States by Latin American people, however nowadays the brand is known by a big part of the population. Now the company is managed by the heirs of Don Vicente Lopez Resines.
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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 count with 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 180,00 square meters. Since then this facility has increased by 70 thousand square meters.[2]
In 1975 the company entered the U.S. market; La Costeña developed an important reputation in the country. 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 founded in San Luis Potosi for the resources optimization and exported products. In 2006 a new project about a completely automatic plant began; this new plant will work with robots; this creation represents a better and faster production with more quality.[2]
The reach of territory of the market of La Costeña, since it began, is one of the values of the company; as a consequence, this increase has not stopped. Inside the country, it products are sell by small and large shops all around the country. There are 30 distribution stores in the principal country cities. It also has 2 distributions units for USA and Europe; this sells are supported by other small and large markets around all the world. Inside Mexico there are three production plants that deliver the goods to the 30 retail stores throughout the country.[2] One plant is in Estado de Mexico, the second plant is in San Luis Potosi and the third one is located in Guasave.[3] The 30 distribution stores are located in Yucatán, Tabasco, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Puebla, Acapulco, Estado de México, Hidalgo, three in Morelos, Queretaro, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Durango, Torreón, Tamaulipas, Sonora, Sinaloa, two in Chihuahua, Baja California Norte and Baja California Sur. The products are sold in places outside Mexico (Europe, Asia and Latin America.[2]
The company is the Mexican Company that sells the bigger variety of canned products. The marketing manager of the company, Gustavo Vogel, said that it success depends of the quality of all the process in its factories. Nowadays the company exports its products to 40 countries; in addition it has offices all over the world; some examples are the ones in Spain and China.[4] It control the 69% of the chilis market and the 16% of its total production goes to other countries.[5]
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, French’s. In chilipepper products include jalapeños, nachos chilies (slices of jalapeños), jalapeños bits, serrano, serrano slices, rajas rojas, rajas verdes, tomatillos, chipotles, chipotle bits, carrot pieces and long chili peppers. Another big part of the products are beans (black beans and kidney beans). Their presentations can be as whole, refried and shattered beans. Some of them can be also mixed with chorizo, cheese, chipotle and pork rinds, finally the beans can be already prepared from traditional recipes as the frijoles charros or sauce for enfrijoladas (similar to enchiladas). However, PROFECO (special institute for the Mexican products quality) found that there were more of sodium recommended in some canned beans.[6]
In tomato puree products we can find four different presentations: 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 for the ketchup squeeze bottle, ketchup glass bottle, ketchup style sauce. The squeezy presentation target are kids.[2]
In mayonnaise products there are a lot of presentations: the mayonnaise with lemon juice in bottle and squeezy presentation, mayonnaise dressing for salads in bottle and squeeze bottle presentation, light mayonnaise in bottle and squeezy presentation, mayonnaise with jalapeño in bottle and squeezy presentation and mayonnaise with chipotle in bottle and squeezy presentation. For the vegetables there are five different presentations: golden corn, peas, vegetable salads, peas with carrots, sliced capsicums. In the creams and soups there are a lot of presentations: corn, bean, mushrooms, asparagus, poblano chill creams. Chicken and vegetable, lentil soups. Jalisco and Guerrero Pozole presentations. Other products are pure of tomato, ketchup, mayonnaise (with jalapeños or chipotle), vegetables (golden corn, peas, vegetable salad, peas with carrots and sliced Capsicum).[2]
The company has an increase between 10% and 15% at production. The strategies used by the company are the negotiation with the farmers, so that the people can ensure them sells and the company can ensure fixed prices. Another strategy is the production of a standard tin for all the types of products, so that the unique difference between the cans is the label. Finally the company target is increasing also, since the women began working and earning money, and they are the ones who buy the supermarket products.[5]
La Costeña went into the international market by 1975. Since the beginning U.S has been it principal goal. The 90% of the products that are exports goes to this country. USA has a lot of Hispanic population who are the principal buyers of La Costeña products. However the products has become very popular between the rest of the population. The products with more sells are the chilies (Jalapeños, nachos, Chipotle, among others). In June 2006, established one production plant in Arizona. The plant was made in 2001 for a Slim Fast Foods, however it has closed in 2004. The new plant is in the Interstate 10 freeway which also connects to Interstate 8, that helps the distribution to the southern of California.[7] After the economic crisis, the company has reduced it sales in the country. Although the economy has been improved, foods companies, as La Costeña, have not achieved any recovery. Until March 2010 the growth was lower than the growth in 2009. This produced the search of new goals as Asia markets.[8] Also there had been some news that affected the image of the company in USA. In 2008 there was a problem because it was said that the products had salmonella, however the problem was resolved when the company showed the hygiene guidelines used in the factory.[9]
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 it advances in production, distribution and lower cost; this is the second time it won it, the first was on 2007.[1] They also get the ISO-9002 on October 11, 2010. This price gives the recognition of standards for quality management systems.[10] Other certificates are ISO 22000, HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points), BRC (British Retail Consortium), IFS (International Food Standard), SQF (Safety Quality Food), BASC (Business Alliance for Secure Commerce). Most of them give the company worldwide recognition.[11]
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.[12] 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 participate in charity programas, one example is the contribution made annually to the Teleton event that takes place in Mexico City.[13]