EL TAPATIO Original hot sauce 296 ml (EXP 01 DEC 2026)

Original hot sauce 296 ml by El Tapatío

With 45 years of tradition, Tapatío has become a flagship in the world hot sauce market thanks to its high quality and recognition from consumers who enjoy mild heat and excellent taste.

This family business was founded in the early 1970s by Don Jose-Luis Saavedra, who was in the aerospace industry at the time, and his wife who began developing a hot sauce recipe that they shared with friends and Employees shared.

When the factory he worked at closed its doors in 1971, he decided to open a small sauce manufacturing facility after encouragement from his wife and friends.

"After some time, the sauce went from being a community to an accepted product and sales began to grow, so the challenge was to accelerate production to meet the growing demands of the market," Saavedra said.

The company began in a Hispanic area in the City of Maywood, California, and its product distribution took place in eastern Los Angeles, primarily through convenience stores and one or two supermarkets.

According to the businessman, there were many factors that contributed to the success of the company and the acceptance of the product.

He pointed out that there was no marketing budget available at the initial stage, which is why people verbally recognized the quality of the product.

"We always thought that when someone tried Tapatío, they would discover the mild spice and wonderful taste that make them want to learn more," said Don Luis, also highlighting the product presentation that is essential to the brand's success is fundamental.

The man on the label is the very attractive figure of a Mexican cowboy. He's a Tapatío, a person born in the state of Jalisco, "he explained, stating that the image broke the stereotypes that have prevailed in the US for many years.

"In fact, at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, there is a bottle of Tapatío on display about how an immigrant changed the image of a culture through a commercial product," he said.

Today, Tapatío has a production and storage area of ​​50,000 square meters in the Californian city of Vernon, which is equipped with fully automated production lines.

But the iconic taste of their sauce took them to other levels. In 2011, Tapatío entered into an agreement with Frito-Lay Co. to develop Tapatío-flavored chips. The line of protein products with a tapatío flavor was also launched at the beginning of this year. These products were first introduced in military bases around the world and are now appearing in local markets as well as Walmart stores across the country.

Tapatíos hot sauce is currently exported to Mexico, Central America, the United Arab Emirates, South America, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, the Philippines and Europe. They are in talks to open sales in China and Southeast Asia.

"As we celebrate our 45th anniversary, we are proud to continue to be a family business. We therefore intend to keep the private company and continue operating as a family business," he concluded.