Veronica Moreno and her husband Eduardo moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1987, hoping to build a bright future together. Veronica had a simple wish to enjoy fresh tortillas like the ones she had back in Coahuila, Mexico. Little did they know this desire would lead to their incredible success story. Today, the company they founded, Olé Mexican Foods, is one of the biggest tortilla manufacturers and other Mexican food items in the US.
The company celebrated its impressive 35th-anniversary milestone in May 2023. It has the capacity to produce 60 million tortillas daily and makes over $670 million in food product sales each year. Olé Mexican Foods operates production facilities in Mexicali, Mexico, Atlanta, Georgia, and Dallas, Texas, and its brands are widely recognized for their distinctive La Banderita seal.
But in 1987, Veronica encountered difficulty finding fresh tortillas in Atlanta. She soon realized that this was a common issue, not only for herself but for others as well. This led to her recognizing a business opportunity – a demand for fresh tortillas but no suppliers in the area.
Consequently, when she saw an ad in a local newspaper offering a small tortilla machine for sale, Veronica and her husband didn’t hesitate to invest their life savings to buy it.
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After months of practicing and perfecting Veronica’s tortilla recipe, they launched their own manufacturing and distribution business in 1988. Each package contained 36 tortillas.
Every day, Veronica would leave at 4 am and drive approximately 250 miles to deliver her tortillas to several stores around Atlanta. They named their company Olé and used a small Mexican flag as their logo, which became known as La Banderita.
Two years later, Veronica and Eduardo’s hard work paid off when they secured their first major customer, the Kroger supermarket chain. Their La Banderita tortillas quickly became a popular item in the stores.
Other retailers, like Publix and Winn-Dixie, followed suit and started selling Olé products. Four years later, the company expanded its reach and began selling its products in Walmart stores nationwide.
As founder and CEO of Olé Mexican Foods, Verónica spearheaded the company’s triumphant growth in grocery store chains throughout the country. She established the Olé Foodservice Division in 2000, expanded operations by manufacturing Mexican cheeses, and introduced the innovative Xtreme Wellness! brand of high-fiber, low-carb, low-calorie tortillas, developed by her husband Eduardo.
Her sons, Eddie Jr. and Edgar hold leadership positions as Presidents of Purchasing and Manufacturing Operations and Sales and Marketing, respectively.
Veronica Moreno’s exceptional leadership and vision earned her numerous accolades as a distinguished Hispanic business leader, including Entrepreneur of the Year recognition by the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 2017, induction into the Tortilla Industry Association Hall of Fame with her husband the following year, and being named Advocate of the Year by LATINA Style Inc. in 2019.