11 Facts About Goya That Will Blow Your Mind

By Alessandra Foresto

Chances are your pantry has more than a few Goya products in it right now, and though most Latinos grew up seeing the chunky font spelling the name on cans, jars, bottles, and bags in our mom's and grandma's kitchens, do we really know much about the history behind the brand? We couldn't say we did, so we went on a deep dive to find out who is responsible for our favorite condiments and ingredients. Turns out, Goya is a family company with roots in Spain and Puerto Rico — and some major milestones under its belt. Read ahead to find out more, and then check out little-known facts about another favorite Latin brand.

  1. According to Goya's website, the company is the largest, Hispanic-owned food company in the United States.
  2. The company was founded in downtown Manhattan in 1936 by Don Prudencio Unanue and his wife, Carolina, who moved to New York City after immigrating to Puerto Rico from Spain.
  3. The founders bought the name from a Moroccan sardine importer for $1 because they liked its connection to painter Francisco de Goya.
  4. Goya's first products were olives, olive oil, and sardines, expanding to yucca, plantains, and pigeon peas in the 1940s and black beans, guava paste, and coconut in the 1950s and '60s.
  5. The company relocated from New York to Secaucus, NJ, in 1974.
  6. The company's slogan is "If it's Goya . . . it has to be good."
  7. The Unanues still own Goya Foods, with many family members working in the headquarters.
  8. Goya now sells more than 2,200 food products from the Caribbean, Mexico, Spain, and Central and South America, including soda, rice, coconut water, coffee, pasta, flours, frozen sofrito, and even fruit pulp.
  9. The bestselling products in Goya's estore are Goya Minced Anchovies Stuffed Olives, Goya Ham Flavored Concentrate, Goya Crackers, Goya Jamaican Style Ginger Beer, and Goya Plenty Hot Jalapeño Chiles Salsita Hot Sauce.
  10. Goya's famous adobo seasoning comes in eight flavors: with pepper, without pepper, light with pepper, light without pepper, with cumin, with lemon, bitter orange, and hot.
  11. In 2000, Goya had its own exhibition in the American History Museum in Washington DC.