.png)
.webp)
In 1943, while World War II raged in Europe, Pedro Antonio Marcos Noriega started Sabritas in Mexico City.
His small snack company grew into a Mexican food industry giant, where PepsiCo eventually bought Sabritas in the 1960s.
In 1943, Pedro Antonio Marcos Noriega founded a snack company in Mexico City.
He named it Golosinas y Productos Selectos, which later became Sabritas.
Starting in a small factory on Avenida Independencia, Noriega produced potato chips using local ingredients and basic equipment.
The company grew by selling to local shops in Mexico.
The name "Sabritas" combines two Spanish words: "sabrosas" (tasty) and "fritas" (fried).
Or in layman's terms, fried, flavorful snacks.
In 1943, Sabritas began delivering snacks across Mexico City using thirty bicycles.
Each morning, salesmen strapped wooden crates filled with potato chips and corn chips to their bicycle racks.
They pedaled fixed routes through Polanco, Roma, and Centro, stopping at corner stores and market stalls.
The salesmen carried paper logs to track their daily deliveries—normally 50-75 stops per route.
The first distribution network concentrated on a 10-mile radius from Sabritas' first factory on Calle Liverpool, reaching 2,000 customers weekly.
The company used this system until 1955, when they purchased their first delivery trucks.
PepsiCo bought Sabritas in 1966, one year after merging with Frito-Lay.
The purchase reshaped Mexico's snack industry.
Under PepsiCo's ownership, Sabritas upgraded its factories with modern equipment and expanded its distribution network.
Delivery trucks reached more stores.
New packaging machines improved product freshness.
Sales teams grew from dozens to hundreds.
The acquisition helped Sabritas dominate Mexico's snack market.
The company turned small corner shops into reliable sales channels and equipped large supermarkets with dedicated display racks.
In September 2000, food testing revealed Starlink corn in Taco Bell taco shells made by Sabritas.
Starlink, a genetically modified corn strain, contained a bacterial protein designed to kill crop-destroying insects.
The EPA had approved Starlink only for animal feed due to concerns about potential allergic reactions in humans.
Kraft Foods immediately recalled 2.5 million boxes of taco shells from supermarket shelves.
Testing showed Starlink DNA in shells made at Sabritas' plant in Mexicali, Mexico.
The contamination occurred when Starlink corn mixed with food-grade corn during harvesting or shipping.
Today, Sabritas manages PepsiCo's snack brands in Mexico.
The company sells four main products:
These snacks fill Mexican grocery stores, corner shops, and street vendor carts.
When customers buy these products in Mexico, they see the red Sabritas logo rather than the Frito-Lay.
Sabritas also manufactures PepsiCo's international snacks in Mexico while developing snacks specifically for Mexican consumers.
Their potato chips snap with a distinct crackle and come in flavors like chile-limón and jalapeño.
The company's Mexican-specific product line includes:
At the time of this writing, Sabritas controls 80% of Mexico's snack market, while its closest competitor, Barcel, holds 12%.
Sabritas trucks deliver chips and snacks to 800,000 small stores across Mexico weekly, reaching remote villages and urban centers alike.
The company releases 15-20 new flavors annually, with recent hits including chile-lime churros and habanero peanuts.
Their market research shows 72% of Mexican consumers purchase Sabritas products at least twice weekly.
Sabritas has successfully woven itself into Mexico's daily snacking habits, from school lunchboxes to workplace break rooms.
.png){kind=logo}
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)