April 5, 2013
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Cacique Inc. celebrates 40 years
Pillars of family, authenticity, quality and integrity have driven company’s success and growth

CENTRAL AMERICAN FOCUS — Cacique recently launched Finca San Vicente, a new brand developed exclusively for Central American consumers. The product line consists of fresh cheese, aged cheese and Salvadoran-style sour cream.

NOT JUST CHEESE — Cacique produces not only cheese but Hispanic creams, chorizos and beverages such as Yonique, a drinkable yogurt. Yonique is made from Grade A lowfat milk and real fruit. It is available in top supermarket chains and Hispanic specialty retailers.

By Kate Sander

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. — Cacique Inc., a large national manufacturer of traditional Hispanic cheeses, creams, chorizos and beverages, this year marks an important milestone: its 40th anniversary.

The company isn’t simply marking the day with an internal company celebration and a few “40th anniversary” emblems on its website — although it’s doing those things, too.

Turning 40 is a milestone that few companies accomplish, making it worth celebrating, company leaders say. To that end, Cacique executives are using the 40th anniversary as an opportunity to showcase new cheeses and market its products in diverse, consumer-appealing ways.

“Celebrating our anniversary demonstrates that, while others have come and gone, Cacique has flourished,” says Enrique Botello, Cacique’s director of marketing. “We want to showcase what this family-owned business has accomplished and that we expect to be in business 100 years from now.”

Cacique was founded by Cuba natives Gilbert and Jennie de Cárdenas who started off by making 100 pounds of cheese a day in their tiny one-room facility in California. Today the company has grown into a top national brand that still is growing and boasts a 200,000-square-foot facility just outside of Los Angeles. But though the company has come a long way from its humble beginnings, Tirso Iglesias, Cacique’s director of sales and marketing, says some things haven’t changed: The company still is family owned and operated and gives personal attention to the details of its products.

Botello adds that the company has grown for the last 40 years with four simple commitments: family values, authentic products, quality ingredients and integrity in its everyday activities.

As the company has grown over the years, it has aimed to support the different origins of the Hispanic consumers it serves.

Cacique knows not every Hispanic consumer is the same. For instance, there are taste and marketing preference differences as well as cultural differences. For example, Mexican Hispanics usually prefer Queso Fresco, while Central American Hispanics prefer something different.

That’s why this year the company has launched Finca San Vicente, a new brand developed exclusively for Central American consumers.

“For our consumers, cultural heritage and food preferences are strongly tied together,” Iglesias says. “The taste profile of our products, the brand design — even the way we activate consumers in the stores — is authentic to this consumer and respectful of their cultural identity.”

The new product line consists of fresh cheese, aged cheese and Salvadoran-style sour cream and is available in top supermarket chains and Hispanic specialty retailers.

Finca San Vicente products are formulated to meet the unique taste preferences of consumers from El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and Costa Rica, Iglesias notes.

Addressing the needs of its consumers, Cacique also has launched a new kilo (35-ounce) size that focuses on the usage of its Ranchero brand Queso Fresco products among consumers in Texas. Queso Fresco as a bulk item also is being made more widely available.

As a way of thanking consumers for their support over the years and to drive new product trials, Cacique is celebrating its 40th anniversary with “Juega, Gana y Celebra con Cacique!” also known as “Play, Win and Celebrate with Cacique!”

“Play, Win and Celebrate with Cacique!” is an integrated promotion designed to get consumers excited, keep them engaged for an extended period of time and reward current and future consumers.

“The idea is we want consumers to get to try our products,” Botello says.

The promotion includes retail, online and promotional “spin to win” events that invite consumers to celebrate the 40th anniversary and sample products. A sealed game/gift card is used to thank consumers and give them the opportunity to try Cacique products for free or at a discount, as well as drive them to the company’s online game page.

Cacique has highlighted the promotion on its Facebook page, a vehicle for communicating with consumers that has grown by leaps and bounds. Launched in May of last year, the company’s Facebook page currently has more than 185,000 people who “like” it, get product or recipe updates and interact with the company daily.

The company also posts recipes on its website and Pinterest.

In addition, as a part of communicating its product authenticity, the company redesigns its labels fairly regularly to keep up with changing consumer needs. The company’s colorful packaging now includes QR codes to provide product information and recipe ideas to consumers, Iglesias says, and is designed to educate consumers on the usage of cheese, cream and chorizos.

In all marketing campaigns, the company focuses on its four pillars — family, authenticity, quality and integrity — and communicates those on packages.

Cacique also continues marketing toward non-Hispanic consumers, and in particular the company is reaching out to what Iglesias calls the “urban foodie.”

Cacique’s “Go Autentico” general market campaign includes endorsement by Chef Aarón Sánchez, a Food Network personality, and focuses on Cacique products as an authentic solution for consumers seeking a true Mexican cooking experience. The campaign is a multi-platform effort consisting of television, online and public relations.

As part of its 40th anniversary activities, this month Cacique also is launching the “Autentico Cheese Society,” which will target “foodie” consumers.

Cacique continues to be involved in the community as well. For example, the company over the years has worked to provide funding for diabetes research.

This past winter, Cacique once again joined forces with others to support Navidad en el Barrio, which helped feed 20,000 families in need in the Los Angeles area.

Another current popular cause raises money to improve community schools. Currently Cacique is in the midst of its school fundraising program, “Cacique and You Can Help Your UNO School.” For 10 consecutive weeks, Cacique is seeking to engage thousands of students as part of a novel social responsibility campaign. The program aims to donate up to thousands of dollars to the UNO Charter School Network, a Chicago school group, in order to help improve students’ learning environment in predominantly Hispanic communities. The program runs from Feb. 11 to April 14, 2013, and partners with Pete’s Fresh Market, Cermak Fresh Market and other participating local independent stores. More information can be found on Cacique’s Facebook page, wwww.facebook.com/Cacique.

As Cacique celebrates 40 years and moves into the future, it will continue to focus on giving back to the community while at the same time growing distribution. Botello says the company, which offers product nationwide, recently has added new distribution in the Northeast United States.

Cacique products are available at leading retailers such as Walmart, Kroger, Safeway, HEB and Harris Teeter, and Hispanic specialty retailers such as Fiesta, Food 4 Less, Northgate, Mi Pueblo, Pete’s Fine Foods, Sedanos, Superior Warehouse and Vallarta. As the company celebrates its first 40 years, it’s already working on expansion plans that will drive the growth for the next generation, Botello says.

CMN