Matutano facts for kids
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| Sociedad anónima | |
| Industry | Food |
| Fate | Acquired by PepsiCo through Frito Lay in 1971 |
| Founded | 1965 |
| Founder | Luis Matutano |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Snack food |
Matutano is a well-known company that makes and sells tasty snacks and potato chips. Its main office is in Barcelona, Spain. Matutano also sells its products in Portugal through a special branch.
The company was started in 1965 by Luis Matutano Jover. Since 1971, Matutano has been part of a huge food company called Frito Lay, which is owned by PepsiCo. Today, Matutano helps distribute many popular PepsiCo snacks across Spain and Portugal. These include famous brands like Lays, Fritos, Cheetos, Doritos, and Ruffles.
Contents
History of Matutano
Early Beginnings
The story of Matutano began even before the company was officially formed. In the 1950s, Luis Matutano Jover, a Spanish businessman, opened a factory in Barcelona. This factory made snacks from potatoes. His family had actually been in the potato snack business since 1873!
Forming the Matutano Brand
The factory's production was quite small at first. But in 1965, Luis Matutano Jover teamed up with an American food company called Pet Milk. Together, they created the official Matutano brand. When they started, they had 42 employees and 8 delivery trucks to get their snacks to stores.
Expanding Across Spain
Matutano continued to grow. In 1969, the company bought another snack company called Rick SA. Rick SA had a factory in Burgos, which helped Matutano expand its reach. This allowed Matutano to start selling its snacks all over Spain.
Joining PepsiCo and New Snacks
A big change happened in 1971. The large international company Frito Lay, which is part of PepsiCo, bought all of Matutano's shares. This meant Matutano became part of the PepsiCo family. After this, Frito Lay introduced many of its own popular products to the Spanish market through Matutano.
Some of these new snacks included Cheetos (in 1975), Fritos (in 1976), Boca Bits (in 1981), Doritos (in 1984), and Ruffles (in 1986).
The Famous Smiling Face Logo
In 1975, Matutano adopted its well-known logo: a friendly smiling face. This logo quickly became very popular and helped people easily recognize Matutano products. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Matutano became the leading company for potato chips and snacks in Spain. It also began to expand its business into Portugal.
Changes and Return of the Smile
In 1997, when Lay's potato chips arrived, Matutano changed the look of all its products. They started using the Frito Lay logo instead of their own smiling face. However, this change wasn't very popular with customers. So, in 2009, PepsiCo decided to bring back the famous smiling face as Matutano's main symbol. The company's motto is: Y hoy ¿Has sonreído? which means "And today, have you smiled?"
See also
In Spanish: Matutano para niños
