MegaMex Foods and Herdez S.A. de C.V. announce new licensing agreement with UTZ Quality Foods

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Aug 12, 2019, 08:00 ET

ORANGE, Calif., Aug. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- MegaMex Foods (Orange, Calif.) and Herdez S.A. de C.V. (Mexico City, Mexico) announced a new licensing agreement with UTZ Quality Foods, LLC. (Hanover, PA) today. Under this license agreement, Utz will manufacture, market and distribute certain HERDEZ^® branded tortilla chips and pork rinds to retailers across their national platform. The effective date of the agreement is July 22, 2019.

"The vision of MegaMex Foods is to bring the spirit of Mexico to every table," said Ryan Michaelis, president and CEO at MegaMex Foods. "Our licensing agreement with UTZ Quality Foods will create unique and authentic HERDEZ^® branded snack foods available to U.S. consumers, this is yet another step forward in making this vision a reality."

Hispanic snack brands are outpacing the growth of the snack category, and the partnership of MegaMex Foods and UTZ will accelerate the introduction of these new snacks into the U.S. market.

In 2018, MegaMex Foods and UTZ formed a master distributor agreement for the distribution of CHI-CHI'S^® tortilla chips and CHI-CHI'S^® and HERDEZ^® salsas and dips across the UTZ geographical markets. This new licensing agreement for HERDEZ^® tortilla chips and pork rinds will ensure that consumers across the U.S. have access to an expanded portfolio of authentic HERDEZ^® snacking items. UTZ will be bringing multiple varieties of HERDEZ^® tortilla chips and pork rinds to market, including: Regular, Chili Lime, and Hot & Spicy pork rinds as well as new and improved HERDEZ^®white, yellow and blue corn tortilla chips.

Founded in 1921, Utz Quality Foods, LLC. is the largest family‐managed, privately held, salty snack company in the United States, producing a full line of products including potato chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, corn chips, tortillas, veggie stix/straws, popcorn, onion rings, pork skins and more. Its brands, which include Utz^®, Golden Flake^®, Zapp's^®, Dirty^® Potato Chips, Good Health^®, Bachman^®, Bachman Jax^®, Wachusett^®, Snikiddy^®, and Boulder Canyon^®, among others, are distributed nationally and internationally through grocery, mass‐ merchant, club stores, convenience stores, drug stores and other channels. Based in Hanover, Pennsylvania, Utz operates eleven manufacturing facilities located in Pennsylvania, Alabama, Arizona, Indiana, Louisiana and Massachusetts. For information about Utz® or its products, please visit www.utzsnacks.com or call 1‐800‐FOR‐SNAX.

MegaMex Foods, a joint venture between Hormel Foods and Herdez del Fuerte, S.A. de C.V., is a provider of many leading Mexican food brands throughout the United States across the retail, club, food service and convenience store channels. MegaMex Foods brands include CHI-CHI'S^®, HERDEZ^®, LA VICTORIA^®, EMBASA^®, DON MIGUEL^®, DONA MARIA^® and WHOLLY^® guacamole. Its brands and products range from authentic to mainstream and help consumers bring the flavor of Mexico into their home.

ABOUT MEGAMEX FOODS
The vision of MegaMex Foods is to "bring the spirit of Mexico to every table". MegaMex Foods offers brands and products that range from authentic Mexican flavors to mainstream favorites. The company is a leading provider of Mexican food in the retail, foodservice and convenience story channels with brands like HERDEZ®, WHOLLY®, CHI-CHI'S® and LA VICTORIA® products.

For more information about HERDEZ ^®products, including recipes, nutritional information and where to buy, visit www.herdeztraditions.com or follow the brand on social media at www.facebook.com/herdeztraditions.