Goya Foods, the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the United States, is opening four new state-of-the-art manufacturing, production and distribution facilities in Texas, Georgia, California and New Jersey as part of a $250 million global expansion to meet consumer demand for the manufacturer’s better-for-you product lines.
The high-tech facilities will aid Goya’s goal to produce authentic, high-quality and affordable items that are low in sodium, organic, diet and sugar-free to national and global markets.
“With the growing Hispanic population and the need for good nutrition, it’s an opportune time for Goya to expand,” says Bob Unanue, president of Secaucus, N.J.-based Goya. "For more than 78 years, Goya has not only positioned itself as a leader in the Latin American food industry and a trusted American brand, but as an iconic symbol of the Hispanic culture. Our commitment to excellence is the cornerstone of providing our consumers with products that offer ‘good taste, good for you and good value,’ all key elements that resonate with our popular tagline that our grandfather created, ‘If It’s Goya, It Has to Be Good.’”
Lots of Space
The 350,000-square-foot Houston facility (pictured), scheduled to open March 27, will serve as the main hub for the manufacturing and distribution of Goya’s healthy bean lines, producing 1,000 cans of beans per minute and serving consumers west of Mississippi. The site offers key access to skilled employees, affordability, a favorable business climate and railroad transportation, as well as serving as a launch pad for global export from Houston’s port and the Panama Canal. The environmentally sustainable center also features an advanced water treatment plant that will recycle and purify water used for the soaking and transporting of beans and other products, crop irrigation, and replenishment of local streams.
The 250,000-square-foot Los Angeles facility will serve all of the West Coast, and the 151,000-square-foot Atlanta facility will cover all of Georgia and surrounding areas. Finally, Goya’s new 900,000-square-foot Northeast headquarters, slated to open this fall, represents the company’s largest-ever expansion. The Jersey City, N.J., site will provide office space and a warehouse totaling 638,000 square feet over 40 acres, while a fully renovated 240,000-square-foot facility in Secaucus will house a new rice-packaging line to produce 600 bags of Goya rice mixes per minute, six times faster than the manufacturer’s current production rate.
Goya makes, packages and distributes more than 2,200 food products from the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America.