Rico Foods Inc

What Rico Foods Inc does

Rico Foods Inc. is a Hispanic and family-owned food manufacturer founded circa 1992 and headquartered at 527 E. 18th Street, Paterson, New Jersey. The company produces Hispanic Caribbean frozen foods, spices, seasonings, and meat/dairy products, organized into three core lines (frozen, spices & seasonings, and meats) comprising over 450 SKUs sold in both retail and food service sizes. All production is carried out in USDA and FDA inspected and licensed manufacturing facilities in New Jersey, using "old world traditional homemade recipes with premium selected ingredients." Its underlying production technology comprises five dedicated lines: dough die-cut (discos, shells, crusts), turnover production (empanadas, patties, fruit pies, ready-to-eat), encrusting (stuffed balls, croquettes, arepas, pupusas, tamales), spices and blending (blends, rubs, powders), and bottling and blending (liquids, pastes). These capabilities double as the platform for its co-packing business.

The company's business model rests on three revenue streams: branded retail product sales, branded food service product sales, and contract co-packing/private label manufacturing for third-party customers, the last of which has been an active line for over 33 years. Go-to-market is sales-led, executed through an internal sales force supplemented by independent national and regional brokers, with all fulfillment from its New Jersey manufacturing and warehousing facilities. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; quotes are obtained by contacting sales directly. Customer segments are defined vertically as Hispanic Caribbean consumers (persona), retail customers (business unit), and food service customers (business unit), with no named customer logos disclosed.

Rico Foods is privately held with no disclosed parent company, external investors, or recent funding rounds, and is registered as a corporation in New Jersey. There is no public ticker, no disclosed management team, and no M&A or restructuring activity on record. The company's stated competitive advantages include brand recognition in the Hispanic Caribbean community, recipe authenticity, broad SKU coverage, multi-format (retail and food service) availability, and flexible small-to-large batch manufacturing capability.

Name

Rico Foods Inc

Legal name

Rico Foods, Inc.

Website

https://ricofood.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rico Foods Inc. is a Hispanic, family-owned food manufacturer in Paterson, New Jersey producing over 450 Hispanic Caribbean frozen foods, spices, seasonings, and meat products in retail and food service sizes from USDA/FDA-inspected facilities, with a 33-year co-packing service for third-party customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paterson

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Product Sales - Retail: Sale of frozen foods, spices, seasonings, and meat/dairy products to retail customers in various retail sizes.
2. Product Sales - Food Service: Sale of products to food service customers in food service sizes.
3. Co-packing/Private Label Manufacturing: Contract manufacturing services for third party customers, providing everything from small batch items to fully automated production runs. Rico Foods has been a significant co-packer for over 33 years.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Core offering

Rico Foods manufactures and sells Hispanic Caribbean frozen foods, spices, seasonings, and meat/dairy products under its own brand, with over 450 items available in retail and food service sizes. The company additionally provides private-label and co-packing (contract manufacturing) services for third-party food customers, leveraging specialized production lines spanning dough die-cut, turnover, encrusting, spices/blending, and bottling.

Product overview

Rico Foods is a single-brand food manufacturing company offering a portfolio of Hispanic Caribbean food products organized into three core product lines—Frozen Foods, Spices & Seasonings, and Meats & Dairy Items—comprising over 450 items available in retail and food service sizes. The company also provides Private Label/Co-Packing Services, leveraging specialized production lines (dough die-cut, turnover, encrusting, spices/blending, and bottling) to manufacture products for third-party customers. All products are produced in USDA and FDA inspected facilities in New Jersey.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Frozen Foods

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Badia Spices: Leading Hispanic seasoning and spice brand with broad retail distribution. Comparable to Rico Foods' Spices & Seasonings line and overlapping target consumer (Hispanic households), though more focused on dry seasonings versus frozen prepared foods.
• Iberia Foods: Distributor and marketer of Hispanic Caribbean food brands including rice, beans, and packaged staples. Comparable consumer base and channel presence to Rico Foods, with overlap in the Caribbean Hispanic segment.
• La Fe Foods: Manufacturer of Hispanic frozen foods and ingredients with a comparable product mix (frozen items, seasonings, beans, and ethnic staples) and similar retail and food service GTM. Most directly comparable mid-sized competitor to Rico Foods.

Broad incumbents

• Goya Foods: Largest Hispanic food manufacturer in the US with a broad portfolio of frozen foods, beans, rice, seasonings, and meats. Directly comparable to Rico Foods in product categories and customer base (Hispanic consumers, retail, and food service), but operates at vastly greater scale across multiple facilities.
• Hain Celestial Group: Specialty and natural foods manufacturer with multiple brands across frozen, snacks, and packaged categories. Comparable to Rico Foods as a multi-category specialty food manufacturer serving retail and food service, though with broader and more mainstream product positioning.
• Conagra Brands: Major North American packaged food company with broad frozen and shelf-stable portfolios (Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, etc.). Comparable as a frozen food manufacturer serving retail and food service, though at vastly greater scale and with less ethnic specialization.
• TreeHouse Foods: Large-scale private label/co-packing food manufacturer serving retail and food service. Comparable to Rico Foods' co-packing/private label business model, but operates at far greater scale across many food categories and customers.
• Nestlé USA: Largest packaged food company globally with extensive frozen prepared food, seasoning, and dairy portfolios including ethnic brands. Comparable as a manufacturer of frozen prepared foods and seasonings with full retail and food service distribution.

Emerging players

• Casa Mamita / Simplot Ethnic Foods: J.R. Simplot's ethnic/Hispanic frozen food line including tamales, burritos, and similar prepared items. Comparable to Rico Foods' frozen ethnic product line with overlap in product format and food service channels.

Regional players

• El Sembrador: Hispanic food brand focused on Caribbean and Latin staples including frozen products and seasonings. Comparable to Rico Foods in product mix and ethnic positioning, with primary distribution in regional US Hispanic markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rico-foods-inc

Compliance2 records

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 Rico Foods Inc