More than menudo: Juanita's Foods launches line of heat-and-serve dishes featuring chicken, beef and pork.

JUANITA'S Foods LLC, a 60 year-old, family-owned company, is known for being the world s largest producer of canned menudo, a popular Mexican stew.

But with Americans becoming more pressed for time--and more interested in Mexican food--the company has recently launched a line of heat-and-serve dishes with chicken, beef and pork.

"I think it works for Mexican Americans first, second or third generation who don't have the time to prepare their meals from scratch," said Ricardo Alvarez, president and chief executive of the Wilmington-based company. "Whatever your ethnicity you can partake in authentic Mexican flavor and convenient packaging."

When Alvarez was brought onboard in 2004, his doctorate degree in food science and his stint at Ruiz Foods Inc., the nation's top seller of frozen Mexican dishes, established his credentials.

"The decision was easy, because the family decided they were ready for a professional to lead Juanita's Foods to a new level of growth," said Mark De La Torre, who serves as vice president of operations. His experience at Ruiz was seen as valuable for another reason, too.

"We looked specifically for a president and CEO with experience in working with a family-owned corporation."

De La Torre, who represents the third generation of his family running the business, said he has never considered doing anything but running the company.

"I'm proud of our 60-year legacy and our reputation for innovation, quality and authenticity," he said. "As a matter of fact, I feel quite blessed to be able to be involved in our family business. There's a pride, a passion, and a thankfulness that's difficult to explain."

Juanita's was founded in the Los Angeles harbor in 1946 by George De La Torre Sr. and his nephew, Albert Guerrero. The company was originally christened Harbor Canning Co., packing fish for sport fishermen. After his father's death, George De La Torre Jr. decided to concentrate on Mexican food and convenience for the customer, while keeping a premium on authenticity. The company acquired Pico Pica Sauce in 1977 and in 1984 built a plant in Wilmington to begin canning menudo and the hot sauce.

Alvarez said the company has experienced double-digit profit and revenue increases for several years. Hoovers.com lists Juanita's revenues as around $46 million, but Alvarez said that number is "well below" what the company is bringing in today. Juanita's now has 150 employees. The company is projecting another double-digit year and Alvarez said that the new refrigerated offerings "will be a pillar that gives us significant growth in years to come."

Evolving tastes

The refrigerated line includes chicken Veracruz, carnitas and chicken chile verde. The three-serving packages can be microwaved in three minutes or boiled in their bags for eight minutes and can be poured directly onto rice or tortillas.

Previously, the company has been limited to its canned food products like menudo, hominy and soups, and other non-perishables like hot sauces and powders for Mexican drinks like horchata (a rice milk beverage) and Mexican hot chocolate.

Juanita's products are sold at Albertsons LLC stores and Vallarta Supermarkets.

The ultimate success of Juanita's and other family-owned Mexican food businesses will depend on how quickly Anglos adopt to authentic Mexican flavors--and the extent to which second- and third-generation Mexican Americans want to keep consuming them.

"That's a different market than the firsts," said Tom Schaffner, spokesperson for United Western Grocers Inc., the largest wholesale grocery distributor in the Western United States.

"As the groups acculturate, they tend to move up the scale and moderate their purchasing so that they're interested in a hybrid between a U.S. supermarket and a Hispanic supermarket."

Schaffner said Juanita's products probably appeal most to first-generation immigrants, adding that many kids who grow up in Mexico aspire to American brands--and are excited to consume them when they come to the United States.

Another key may be the speed at which major companies develop markets for their less authentic Mexican fare. Already in the frozen section, Nestle SA's Lean Cuisine division has a selection of Mexican lunches and Amy's Kitchen Inc. offers a number of Mexican meals.

Family fare?

It seems counter-intuitive, but today's faster fare may actually help maintain some family traditions.

Scott Coltrane, a family studies expert and Associate Dean in the College of Humanities Arts and Social Sciences at University of California, Riverside, said women--who now do about 75 percent of housework--are getting more pinched for time and are therefore spending less of it in the kitchen.

"It's interesting that women's time in cooking and cleaning has gone down, but their time on child care has not," Coltrane said. "It's not that mothers are spending less time with their kids. They're spending less time doing the labor-intensive cooking and cleaning. That's done by outsourcing and substituting faster food."

Coltrane hopes this shift will result in a resurgence of the family dinner.

"I think mealtime together is very important for creating a sense of family--particularly with the Mexican-American family," Coltrane said. "Some people are spending less time in food preparation so that time can be spent at the dinner table with the family. That sense of solidarity in sitting down and eating together is something diminishing. If we can find ways to bring that back, I think it's better for the kids."

Juanita's Foods LLC

Year Founded: 1946

Core Business: Producing canned and refrigerated authentic Mexican food

Employees in 2005: 125

Employees in 2006: 150

Goal: To expand its market share through the introduction of refrigerated dishes to complement its canned fare

Driving Force: To produce authentic Mexican food that appeals to Hispanic and non-Hispanic consumers

BY EMILY BRYSON YORK

Staff Reporter