Milling & Baking News - June 6, 2017 - 34

Tortilla Update X

Alternative channels, products open
door for tortilla category growth
LAS VEGAS - At the Tortilla Industry Association (T.I.A.) Convention
and Exposition held May 1-2 in Las
Vegas, Information Resources, Inc.
representatives Brian Burke, director,
and Robert Porod, executive vicepresident, presented market data that
showed how a shifting retail climate is
affecting tortilla sales and how the industry needs to adapt to meet customers where and how they shop.
According to I.R.I. research, big box
store traffic is down 28% since 2015,
while small-format stores have grown
95%. In addition, discount stores such as
Aldi and Lidl have had a significant impact on where shoppers are going in the
physical realm. Tortilla producers, Mr.
Burke said, can capitalize on this shift by
making sure that their products are in the
locations that shoppers prefer to visit.
On-line conglomerates like Amazon
have an advantage with return on investment, sitting at 40% while brickand-mortar retailers average 13%, Mr.
Burke said. Since 76% of all shopping
trips begin on-line, getting tortilla

At the Tortilla Industry Association Convention and Exposition, representatives of Information Resources, Inc. presented data that cast favorable futures for tortillas and other
ethnic foods.

products into on-line retailers makes
sense now and will only continue to
grow in profitability, he added.
Retail sales top $2 billion
Retail tortilla sales totaled $2.2 billion over the past 52 weeks, which is up

Three longtime tortilla innovators
inducted into T.I.A. Hall of Fame
LAS VEGAS - Three longtime tortilla innovators were inducted into the Tortilla Industry Association (T.I.A.) Hall of Fame at an awards banquet May 2 at the T.I.A. Convention and Exposition in
Las Vegas.
The first inductee was Roberto Gonzalez Barrera, founder of Gruma (Azteca Milling and Mission
Foods). Mr. Barrera also served as the chairman of the board of directors of Gruma, as well as the
chairman of Grupo Financiero Banorte. He is considered one of the leading pioneers of the Mexican
corn meal industry and one of the foremost promoters of tortilla consumption worldwide.
Mr. Barrera passed away in 2012, and the award was accepted by his son, Juan Barrera, who is
the current chief executive officer and chairman of Gruma.
"I can tell you that Roberto was a great man, businessman, worker and visionary," Juan Barrera
said. "When I was a boy, I remember that on the weekends I would go with him and my grandfather to sell corn meal. He taught me the foundations of business and love for the company. He
taught me that work and effort are the basis of success. I remember these things every day."
The second inductee, John Ponce, grew up in the tortilla industry, forming and stretching tortillas
by hand with his family members. In the 1980s, he accepted a sales position with Casa Herrera,
Pomona, Calif., eventually settling at the J.C. Ford Co., La Habra, Calif., where he continues to work
providing customers with tortilla manufacturing equipment. Mr. Ponce recently was elected to two
terms on the T.I.A. board of directors.
The third member elected to the T.I.A. Hall of Fame was Gustavo Gutierrez, president and c.e.o.
of Tortillas, Inc., Las Vegas. A second-generation leader of the company, Mr. Gutierrez has worked in
every facet of the tortilla business. Not only did he serve two terms on the T.I.A. board of directors,
but he also served as board chairman. He was highly influential in the growth of the organization
and coined the phrase "share the passion and the profits" for the organization.
Created in 1989, T.I.A. is a non-profit organization headquartered in Arlington, Va., whose members include tortilla manufacturers, industry providers and distributors worldwide, and companies
with interests in the sector, mainly in the United States. MBN

34 / June 6, 2017 XMilling & Baking News

2.1 % over the previous year, according to I.R.I. This is in keeping with the
general trend of growth in ethnic food
sales. Tortillas also grew in both penetration (households in which tortillas
are eaten) and in basket size, I.R.I said.
Though grocery store sales still
dominate the majority of total tortilla
sales, internet sales of tortilla products
grew 8.3% in the past year, showing
the potential for even more growth in
the future, according to I.R.I. Regions
east of the Mississippi river are also
seen as a potential significant growth
point for additional tortilla sales.
Crotilla debuts at Wal-Mart
In mid-April, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
introduced a new product that further
puts tortillas into consumers hands. The
Crotilla is a mashup of a flour tortilla
and flaky croissant that the Bentonville,
Ark.-based retailer has made available
in more than 800 stores nationwide.
"Whether it's brunch or brinner,
the Crotilla was created to turn boring meals into delicious masterpieces
- from breakfast sandwiches and flatbread pizzas, to exciting salad sides
and inventive desserts," Wal-Mart said.
Exclusive to Wal-Mart, the Crotilla is
the latest food mashup to follow in the
footsteps of the Cronut, the hit hybrid
pastry that debuted several years ago
in a New York bakery and inspired a
spate of knockoffs at national restaurant chains. In recent years, other popular mashups have included pretzel
buns, ramen burgers and chicken and
waffles. MBN
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