Casa Sanchez Foods

Roberto and Isabel Sanchez immigrated from Zacatecas, Mexico to San Francisco, California, in 1923 and established R. Sanchez & Co., a tortilla factory in Northern California. Tortillas were traditionally sold by the pound and wrapped in paper and string just like in Mexico. After Roberto's death, his widow and three young children took over the family business.

R. Sanchez & Co. began in the Fillmore district of San Francisco, a predominantly hispanic area at the time. In 1968, the company moved to the Mission district as the Mission was experiencing an influx of Latino residents. [4] Soon after, Robert Jr. and Martha Sanchez decided to manufacture fresh-packaged salsas to differentiate themselves from the many competing tortilla factories.

Casa Sanchez is one of the highest-selling salsas in California based on Neilson reports and is widely known as a San Francisco staple. The company’s logo, "Jimmy the Cornman", a cartoon depiction of a boy wearing a sombrero while riding an ear of corn like a rocket, was inspired by Jimmy Sanchez, the youngest of the third generation, and the landing of the first man on the moon, hence the company's slogan: "flavor out of this world".

As of today, the company continues to be family operated into the fourth generation--contributing to the further development of the brand's legacy. Casa Sanchez has continued to develop an extensive line of over a dozen Mexican food products and have expanded to the entire west coast as a leader in co-marketing fresh salsas and tortilla chips. Aside from being heavily involved in the community by regularly sponsoring Latino events throughout the Bay Area, Casa Sanchez has also contributed over $100,000 to charity.

In 1999 Casa Sanchez attracted national attention, including that of Forbes magazine, when it unveiled its new marketing campaign: get a tattoo of "Jimmy the Cornman" and get free lunch for life.[5] The promotion returned in March 2010 to much praise.[6]