Quesos Excelsior

What Quesos Excelsior does

Quesos Excelsior is a Mexican artisanal cheese manufacturer founded in 1950 by Don Salvador De la Parra Sotelo and headquartered in La Loma, Isla, Veracruz. The company produces a portfolio of traditional Mexican cheeses — including Cotija, Criollo, Panela, Chiapas, Rancherito, and Oaxaca — using 100% fresh milk sourced from its own dairy farms, providing vertical control over raw material quality and supply.

Operationally, the company runs a multi-plant manufacturing footprint anchored in Veracruz and operates distribution centers (CEDIS) in Mexico City (Iztapalapa/Central de Abastos), Tijuana, Mexicali, and San Diego, with a dedicated channel partner (Mercantil Excelsior) serving northern Mexico. Its commercial model is multi-channel: traditional retail/wholesale (mayoreo), self-service chains (autoservicios), and direct export to the United States through supermarket chains including El Super, active since 2016 across three US states. The company positions itself as a national reference in Cotija cheese under the tagline "El Queso de México." Family-owned, with a workforce of 101-250 employees, the business combines a heritage craft brand with a scaled, geographically diversified distribution network targeting both Mexican domestic consumers and the US Hispanic retail segment.

Name

Quesos Excelsior

Legal name

Quesos Excelsior

Website

https://quesosexcelsior.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Quesos Excelsior is a Mexican artisanal cheese manufacturer founded in 1950, producing traditional cheeses (Cotija, Oaxaca, Panela, Chiapas) from company-owned dairy farms and distributing across Mexico and three US states via wholesale, retail, and export channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisanal Mexican Cheese Manufacturing

NAICS

Cheese Manufacturing (311513), Food Manufacturing (311)

SIC

Dairy Products (2020)

akta.pro primary industry

Cheese Manufacturing (AFAKAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ripened Natural Cheese Manufacturing (Semi-Soft, Hard & Blue) (AFAHABAB), Fresh/Natural Cheese Manufacturing (Unripened & Soft) (AFAHABAA), Pasta Filata Cheese Manufacturing (Mozzarella, Provolone, String Cheese) (AFAHABAC)

Keywords

• Artisanal Mexican cheese
• Traditional dairy products
• Fresh milk cheese production
• Wholesale cheese distribution
• Cotija cheese manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Isla

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Cheese and Dairy Product Sales: Sale of traditional Mexican cheeses and dairy products through wholesale and retail channels, both domestically in Mexico and through export to the United States
2. Wholesale Distribution: Bulk sales to distributors and wholesale buyers through their network of CEDIS (distribution centers) across Mexico
3. Export to USA: International sales to the United States market through supermarket chains in three states

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Quesos Excelsior manufactures and distributes traditional Mexican artisanal cheeses made from 100% fresh milk sourced from its own farms. The product portfolio includes Queso Cotija, Queso Criollo, Queso Panela, Queso Chiapas, Queso Rancherito, and Queso Oaxaca, offered in multiple presentations (triangles, wheels, balls, shredded) for both family consumption and foodservice/retail use. The company operates a Veracruz-based production facility and a network of distribution centers across Mexico and the United States.

Product overview

Quesos Excelsior is a Mexican artisanal cheese company with over 70 years of tradition (founded in 1950), offering a portfolio of traditional Mexican cheeses including Queso Cotija, Queso Criollo, Queso Panela, Queso Chiapas, Queso Rancherito, and Queso Oaxaca. The company operates from Veracruz, Mexico, and exports to the United States. The product line consists of 100% fresh milk cheeses with various presentations (triangles, wheels, balls, shredded) targeting both traditional Mexican consumers and retail channels across Mexico and the US market.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Queso Cotija
• Queso Criollo
• Queso Panela
• Queso Chiapas
• Queso Rancherito
• Queso Oaxaca

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Mercantil ExcelsiorcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNorthern region distributor partner for Quesos Excelsior products, operating website www.mercantilexcelsior.com and maintaining presence in Baja California region
• El SupercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUS-based retail chain partner distributing Quesos Excelsior products to Hispanic consumers in the United States market

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Grupo Lala: One of Latin America's largest dairy companies, Grupo Lala produces fluid milk, cheeses, yogurts, and creams across Mexico and multiple other countries. It competes with Quesos Excelsior in the broader Mexican dairy category but at vastly greater scale and with a mass-market positioning, while Quesos Excelsior occupies the artisanal traditional-Mexican-cheese niche.
• Alpura: Mexican dairy cooperative producing fluid milk, cheeses, and dairy desserts with national distribution. Like Grupo Lala, Alpura is a broad incumbent competing across the dairy category, whereas Quesos Excelsior specializes in artisanal Mexican cheese varieties — making them partial competitors on cheese SKUs and overlapping distribution channels.
• Leprino Foods: World's largest mozzarella producer and a major player in dairy ingredients and cheeses globally. Leprino represents the industrial-cheese scale competitor in the broader category, but is comparable in cheese manufacturing technology, dairy supply chain, and B2B/retail distribution muscle.
• Sigma Alimentos: Mexican processed-foods company (part of Alfa) producing cheeses, meats, and yogurts with strong US retail presence through its Lacteos and processed-cheese brands. As a broad incumbent with both industrial cheese operations and US distribution, Sigma is a relevant comparable on the export-cheese and Hispanic-retail dimensions.
• Schreiber Foods: Largest employee-owned dairy company in the US, producing natural/processed cheeses, cream cheese, and dairy ingredients for retail and foodservice. While much larger and more industrial, Schreiber is comparable on cheese-manufacturing operations, private-label and branded cheese retail distribution, and dairy-supply integration.

Direct peers

• El Abuelito Cheese: Hispanic-focused cheese manufacturer based in the US producing traditional Mexican-style cheeses (Queso Fresco, Oaxaca, Cotija, Requesón) for the US Hispanic market. Like Quesos Excelsior, it targets authenticity and Hispanic consumers through supermarket distribution, making it a direct competitor in the same product-category and customer-segment space.
• Cacique Inc. US-based Hispanic cheese and dairy products company producing authentic Mexican-style cheeses (Queso Fresco, Oaxaca, Cotija-style cheeses) sold through mainstream US retailers. Cacique is the closest direct competitor to Quesos Excelsior in the US Hispanic cheese segment, making it a key comparable on product offering, target customer, and US retail-channel strategy.

Regional players

• Chilchota Mexican Foods: Mexican artisanal dairy company producing traditional cheeses, creams, and dairy products. Operates primarily in Mexico, comparable to Quesos Excelsior on artisanal tradition, fresh-milk sourcing, and product portfolio of traditional Mexican cheese varieties, though with a more domestic footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/QuesosexcelsiorMx
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/quesos-excelsior

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Quesos Excelsior