Expo West: Lubetzky and Leal On Building a Mexican Food Brand for a New Generation

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KIND founder Daniel Lubetzky and former KIND and Cholula CMO Miguel Leal were homesick for the Mexican dishes they grew up with, but couldn’t find them on store shelves. So the duo, along with their third co-founder Rodrigo Zuloaga, decided to create their own line, SOMOS, which launched last year.

Showing at Natural Products Expo West for the first time, the six-month-old brand wants to show consumers looking for better-for-you options what authentic Mexican flavors can taste like. The result is thicker, crunchier chips, a range of salsas and creative meal starters including cauliflower tinga and smoky chipotle mushrooms.

In this video, recorded at the trade show, Leal and Lubetzky shared more about their motivations for starting the line as well as how they are striking a balance between being authentic and being accessible. The duo also discussed their approach to building strong teams and how brands can retain great talent in this competitive hiring market.