Grupo Bimbo began as a Mexican bakery with a few employees in the mid-20th century. Almost 80 years later, it is one of the Mexican multinational companies with the greatest presence in the world.
Its global expansion was achieved by creating brands and products that went beyond sweet bread, as well as by acquiring other food companies inside and outside of Mexico.
Bimbo integrated so many brands into its portfolio so quickly that many Mexicans are unaware that several of the products in their pantry belong to this company.
Here we share a list of products and brands that have been part of Bimbo since they originated, or because the bear bought them at the right time.
1.- The Globe
The El Globo chain of pastry shops began its history in Mexico in 1884. In 1999 it was acquired by Grupo Sanborns, becoming the property of Carlos Slim, but in 2005 he sold it to Grupo Bimbo.
In 2013 they opened “Corazón de café”, cafeterias that are part of the branches, so as not to be limited only to the sale of bread and cakes to take away.
2.- Sweet truth
“This is Vero’s march, the sweet that I prefer. The sweet that I like the most because Vero comes first.” Grupo Bimbo must have liked that song a lot because in 2010 they bought this famous Mexican candy company.
Dulces Vero has been producing a wide range of sweets and preserves since 1952, including hard candy lollipops, gummies and marshmallows.
3.- Oroweat (George Weston Foods of the western region)
In 2002 Grupo Bimbo bought the western region of the United States from the business of George Weston Limited, becoming the owner of the Oroweat brand, among others.
Oroweat is an American bread company from the 1930s, and with its acquisition a new era began for Bimbo in the United States.
4.- Barcel
In 1971 Grupo Bimbo acquired a chocolate factory in Mexico City, and in 1977 it appropriated a snack factory in Querétaro, Qro.
What does one have to do with the other? That the Querétaro factory is where Barcel began, under the name Productos Nubar SA de CV The Barcel brand was made up of Ricolino (the chocolate factory in Mexico City), Nubar products and Barcel del Norte.
In 2019 Bimbo divided Barcel de Ricolino after four decades.
5.- Royal Milpa
This brand was born in 1990 together with Lonchibon products, with which Bimbo added corn tortilla foods to its catalog. In other words, this brand has always been part of Bimbo.
In that same year Barcel presented a new product, Chip’s potatoes, thanks to a new factory in the State of Mexico to produce salty snacks.
6.- Entenmann’s (George Weston Foods)
In 2009 Grupo Bimbo bought George Weston Foods, Inc., belonging to George Weston Limited for 2.38 billion dollars. With that he got the entirety of this company in the United States.
By adding this company to the Group, they got multiple strong food brands in the United States, including Thomas, Arnold, Boboli, Brownberry, Friehofer, Stroehmann, and Entenmann’s. The latter has a wide variety of baked goods, such as brownies and donuts. The purchase cost him 2,380 million dollars, and with this movement Bimbo became the leading bakery in the United States.
7.- Wonder
Many remember Wonder as Bimbo’s competition in the Mexican market, but many were not even aware that in 2007 Grupo Bimbo bought Interstate Bakeries Corporation (IBC), an American company that owns the Wonder brand.
Now every time you see a Wonder bread for sandwiches or hot dogs, you will know that it also belongs to Bimbo.
8.- Coronado
The famous and traditional potosina company of cajeta products made with goat’s milk, founded in 1927 in Hacienda Coronado, began in the 90s to export its products outside of Mexico.
In 1995 Bimbo saw the opportunity to buy “Coronado Milk Products”. Since then, Coronado brand products have diversified and expanded their distribution.
9.- Aunt Rosa
This is another of the brands that have always been part of Grupo Bimbo. Originated in 1974 for Bimbo to add homemade bread foods to their portfolio.
Three years later, they invented Tía Rosa tortillas, which have surely saved you from hunger quickly on several occasions.
10.- Sailor
In 1954, after several tests that Grupo Bimbo carried out to manufacture cupcakes with strawberry, orange and chocolate flavors, the company… Pabisa was founded. But their products were not as successful as expected.
In 1957 this brand became Marinela, with other types of products. A few years later the Gansito was introduced. In 1972 they began to produce Chocorroles, Submarines, Barritas and Polvorones. So Marinela was always part of Grupo Bimbo.
11.- Ricolino
As we already mentioned a few paragraphs above, the acquisition of Ricolino came hand in hand with Barcel, when Bimbo bought the chocolate factory in the capital of Mexico.
Ricolino was part of Barcel, but the owners of Bimbo decided to separate Barcel as a brand of salty snacks, and Ricolino focused on chocolates and sweets.
Just on April 25, 2022, Mondelēz International confirmed the purchase of Ricolino. Bimbo ceased to be the owner of the brand, 52 years after its foundation.
12.- Suandy
In 1974, the same year that Bimbo created the Tía Rosa brand, they created the Suandy brand, with products such as Biscotel and Pastisetas.
This brand was created as a line of products made from butter, instead of vegetable fats.
13.- Very healthy
In 2009 Bimbo bought Sanissimo, to cover more of the tostadas and tortilla chips market, in addition to the one it already had with the Milpa Real brand.
One of the best positioned products of this brand are the Salmas, baked corn toast that is presented as a healthy option in its packaging.
14.- Chocolates The Crown
An old Mexican chocolate company, born in the 1940s in Mexico City, recognized for its products Paletón, Huevitos and Chocolate Chickens.
In 2005 Grupo Bimbo acquired this chocolate company, strengthening its presence in the Mexican market, just in case Ricolino wasn’t already big enough.
15.- Panrico
In 2006 Grupo Bimbo acquired Beijing Panrico, and with this it finally managed to enter the Asian market.
Ten years later he bought the entirety of this company of Spanish origin, leader in the baking industry in Spain and Portugal.
16.- Joyco
This brand may not sound familiar to you, but surely three of its products do: Duvalín, Lunetas and Bocadín. In 2004 Grupo Bimbo bought Joyco de México, Alimentos Duval and Lolimen.
If you consider that Bimbo owns Ricolino, Chocolates La Corona, Tía Rosa, Coronado, Dulces Vero, Barcel and Marinela, there are few options in the grocery store that aren’t owned by Bimbo the bear.
These are just some of the brands and products that Grupo Bimbo has in its portfolio. On their official website they boast their presence in 33 countries, with more than 100 brands and 10,000 different products, it is the largest bakery on the planet.
