The right steps towards a successful, sustainable future

Mexideli imports premium products, especially cheese, for Mexico. It is extremely successful in doing so. With its new headquarters, the Emmi subsidiary has skillfully set the course for innovation and growth. Mexideli is even playing a pioneering role in sustainability.

Things are going very well in Mexico. Since the Mexideli Group was founded in 1988 by Haggai Blich and Yory Salant, Mexideli has set itself the goal of “bringing the best gourmet products in the world to Mexico”. With success: turnover has more than doubled in the last eight years, and the number of employees grew 45% to some 350. Here’s a quote from Yory Salant, MD of Mexideli –

“I am very happy with our development. The success is here because we focus all our energy on giving the best service to our customers and also thanks to our dedicated employees, quality products and nice cooperation with Emmi”.

Products from all over the world

In fact, Mexideli is now the number one Import Gourmet cheese company in Mexico and its subsidiary, Comalca Gourmet, is the leading food service company in the Cancun touristic region. Comalca was founded in 1997 by Jose Maria Alfor, Gerardo Cardenas and Mexideli. Jose Maria Alfor, MD of Comalca, says “Comalca is known today as the most important Refrigerated and Frozen Gourmet products supplier in the Cancun area”.

Mexideli imports high-quality food from Europe, Asia, South and North America, Africa and Oceania. Over 50 per cent of this is cheese – including Emmi brands, of course, but also fish and meat, desserts, fruit juice and other premium products. Jose Luis Botello, CFO and Manager in charge of the Import Process, says “every week Mexideli imports many containers that enter Mexico through 7 different ports of entry”. This is a huge operational challenge but if you do it right, as Mexideli does, you have a solid base to give a good service to your customers “.

The company has five distribution centers: the new center in Mexico City, Cancun, Monterrey, Guadalajara, and Mérida. In addition, there are three food processing plants; one in the north of Mexico City region where Fish is processed and packaged, the second one at the headquarters where cheese is processed and packaged and the third one which is small in the Cancun area. The big wheels, such as Emmi’s 90-kilogram Emmentaler, are cut into wedges of different sizes and packaged. “These food processing plants are very important because the products are prepared exactly as the customers want them,” says Gerardo A Cardenas, Deputy MD and Commercial Director of Mexideli.

Comprehensive service

Mexideli delivers its products to leading retailers, Food Service Operators and Wholesale Clubs throughout Mexico. The important thing is the total service: the import of high-quality branded products, reliable and punctual deliveries and good service in the stores. Numerous in-store demos and sampling take place and Mexideli advises local vendors on how to present and sell the products.

But the company’s strength also lies in its culture. “We have many long-term employees with great experience,” says Yory Salant. Interaction is respectful and the employer is reliable – this is a good basis for trust and the involvement of the Emmi Group is positive. “Emmi also creates trust and reliability with its good reputation, which is very helpful,” says Thierry Trottereau, Deputy EVP Americas for LATAM in the Americas Division.

Development opportunities through new headquarters

One milestone is the new warehouse with headquarters’ offices in Mexico City, which opened 2 years ago. “Before, there were six different locations in the city, which was not optimal” says Yory. It is also important that now the cheese packaging has been modernized and enlarged. With the new building, Mexideli has a total of 70,900 cubic meters of cooling space and is thus equipped for future growth. Emmi provided valuable support in planning and implementation with its know-how from various experts.

Milestone in sustainability

A major success can certainly be seen in sustainability. The cooling system works with a CO₂-based coolant, which means that environmentally harmful coolants could be dispensed with. The system runs very efficiently with minimal energy consumption. In addition, heat exchangers ensure that all energy for hot water, heating, etc. can be saved. This saves the company 1600 tons of CO₂ annually. “Mexideli is very innovative and follows exactly the path towards our net zero ambition,” says Geri Schatt, Head of Sustainability at the Emmi Group.