The San Antonio company that invented concession stand nachos has been sold to a Venezuelan food and beverage company.
Ricos Products Company is a family-owned business that has been based in San Antonio since 1909. Empresas Polar acquired Ricos Products through one of its subsidiaries, according to a press release on Friday.
“In Empresas Polar we found the right steward for Ricos: a company that shares our heritage as a family-built food company and our passion for the Ricos brand,” said Ricos CEO Tony Liberto. “Their long-term commitment will allow us to accelerate our growth and innovation, expand our reach and keep delivering high-quality products to our customers.”
Ricos makes concessions and snacks found at movie theaters, festivals and sports venues and is well known for its nachos, which it introduced in Dallas in 1976.
Those nachos, with a stronger chip and warm cheese sauce, are now a staple at events in every U.S. state and around the world. Its cheese sauce is a popular product at local grocery stores.
The Liberto family began operating grocery businesses in the U.S. in 1890, when Rosario Liberto immigrated to Louisiana from Italy. In 1909, the Liberto family opened a grocery store in San Antonio. The company has grown into a major concessions provider in the 117 years since.
Its Southtown headquarters also has a store for local wholesale customers and a museum dedicated to that long history. Ricos also has a manufacturing plant in Dallas.
The company sold its distribution business to wholesale distributor Vistar in 2007, but in 2019, CEO Tony Liberto said he had no plans of selling the company to investors. At the time, the company projected $128 million in sales.
But now Ricos is selling to another food and beverage company.
Empresas Polar was founded in Venezuela in 1941 as a brewery, which still makes its Polar Pilsner. The company later diversified: producing bread, acquiring other brands and bottling Coca-Cola and Pepsi products for South American markets.
Empresas Polar has expanded its U.S. market over the last 15 years, adding a facility in Florida to produce beer and malt beverages and a grain and cereal facility in Greenville, Texas.
“This growth and success in the U.S. market has allowed Empresas Polar to identify new portfolio options, paving the way for the acquisition of Ricos Products,” company officials said in their press release.
Empresas Polar’s CEO, Lorenzo Mendoza, acknowledged Ricos’ bond with San Antonio.
“Our commitment is to build on everything that makes Ricos special — its people, its San Antonio roots, and the quality and traditions its customers have come to trust — while investing in the company’s continued growth and bringing its products to even more consumers around the world,” he said.
