Increasing the offer

As New Territories Are Conquered

Vima Foods makes the most out of the multiple channels at hand to supply frozen foods and other highquality products efficiently as its portfolio and global reach increase

Vima Foodswas created in Galicia, Spain in 1994, originally conceived as a family business in the fishing industry. During more than 25 years, Vima Foods has gone beyond this particular industry developing and offering clients and consumers more variety and complete lines of packaged food, by also becoming a full-fledged global operation with offices and distribution centers in seven countries whose products find their way into 40 countries via production plants and distribution partners.

Throughout time, evolution and opportunities have factored to increase the company’s business lines after its beginnings in the foodservice channel, growing into retail, private label development, and distribution of toprate brands.

Produced by Jassen Pintado

Written by Mateo Rafael Tablado

Creative Direction Omar Rodríguez

Interviewee

Víctor Moro, Executive Vice-President; Guillermo Mazarrasa, COO for Vima Foods

The company’s performance has positioned it in the leadership among frozen foods in Cuba and in the Dominican Republic, and also finding itself among the top five companies in this category in Mexico, Panama and Venezuela.

The growth experienced by Vima Foods in recent years is a result of the commitment among its team of professionals, relying on a corporate culture placing individuals at the center of the operation as the most important part of the organization, enabling them as key elements and supporting them to take part in postgraduate programs in prestigious institutions such as the MIT and Harvard University, among others.

Vima Foods is certified under the highest global standards, ensuring quality compliance in products and operations not only from the company but also from key strategic partners.

Such approvals include the MSC certification for sustainable fishery, ASC for responsible aquaculture, AENOR ISO 9001, BAP, COVID, FDA and OEA, among many others, besides being audited by a Big Four firm.

“Investing in all these certifications enables us to become the kind of company we want to be,” pointed out Víctor Moro, Executive VicePresident for Vima Foods.

EXPERIENCE IN HANDLING BIG-NAME PLAYERS

Víctor Moro graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Economic and Business Sciences from the Comillas Pontifical University-ICADE, and also earned an MBA from the Columbia Business School. For more than ten years, Moro has worked in investment banking in companies such as the Santander Group, involved with

- Víctor Moro, Executive Vice-President for Vima Foods

corporations such as AB InBev, Diageo, Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever, among others.

Moro joined Vima Foods in 2018 as associate CEO, becoming executive VP in 2020, in charge of the company’s strategy and expansion.

A Wide And Complete Portfolio With Capability To Grow

The main products marketed by Vima Foods in the frozen variety are fish and seafood, vegetables, fruits, smoothies, pre-cooked food and dairy. Among non-frozen foods, the company offers oil & vinegar, olives, jams, pickled foods, sauces -including a wide variety of tomato sauces-, coffee, legumes, cereals, canned fish and vegetables, and pasta.

The Virma Selección gourmet line encompasses the best Iberian pork products, and high quality canned and frozen foods resulting from the finest manufacturing techniques.

These products are marketed as foodservice for hotels, and also through the Vima Foods brand, private labels for supermarket chains and as white-label for rebranding.

In select markets, Vima Foods has become a distribution partner for well-known brands with a global reputation, such as Unilever and El Corte Inglés, among others.

The company has one key asset which also services different clients: the Almafrío cold storage warehouse complex, located in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The facility relies on cutting-edge technology and high storage capacity, guaranteeing the cold chain for every product. The 1.7 million cubic feet space boasts 13 cargo bays and a 7,500 ton capacity. Its advanced cooling system has a refrigeration range of 35ºF to 46ºF and a -0.4ºF to -22ºF.

Constant Expansion Worldwide

Vima Foods currently has offices and distribution centers bringing the company close to its clientele in Cuba (La Habana), Panama (Panama City), Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo), Mexico (Cancun, San José del Cabo, Mexico City and Monterrey), the United States (New York and Miami), and China (Qingdao), besides Spain (La Coruña), where its corporate headquarters are located.

Vima Food’s first venture out of its homeland took the company to Cuba, aligned with the expansion and opening of multiple properties from Spain’s large hotel chains. The next step was in the Dominican Republic, where -besides the foodservice channel for hotels- the company also took part in catering to supermarkets, rapidly becoming the country’s number one import company for frozen meals, available in all the

Dominican supermarket chains. The company arrived in Mexico in a similar way, with the foodservice unit working for hotels in important beach destinations, such as Cabo and Cancun, and afterwards venturing into the country’s inner states, setting offices and distribution centers in Mexico City and Monterrey, supplying for Mexico’s most prominent supermarket chains, such as Chedraui, Casa Ley and Soriana, among others.

After Mexico came the U.S. and Panama, also with company presence, settling in their own offices, where the company has focused on thrusting its presence in retail.

In other countries, Vima Foods boosts its presence through strategic partners and distributors, as it currently does in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, and more recently in the Bahamas and Puerto Rico.

About Us Since 1972

Cotransa Group is made up of 4 companies. Cotransa, Logitrans, Vitrans and SFI. As a global group, it has its own o ces in Alicante, Barcelona, Bilbao, Mexico City, Havana, Madrid, Valencia and Veracruz.

We offer solutions for Sea Transport, Air Transport, Customs Service, Special Transport, Logistics and Distribution.

Prime Services

Specialized services to Turkey, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Cuba, Peru, Israel, the USA and China.

“We support our partners regarding marketing, boosting our brand and other matters. This model allows for a hybrid growth strategy without being completely organic or inorganic, but rather with controlled risk,” added Guillermo Mazarrasa, COO for Vima Foods.

The Kind Of Leadership Enabled To Face Every Challenge

Guillermo Mazarrasa graduated in Computer Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid. He also earned an Executive MBA from the IESE Business School and a MicroMaster in Supply Chain from MITx.

For almost a decade, Mazarrasa performed in the consulting environment between Spain and the United Kingdom, contributing to different companies’ operational optimization.

His tenure in Vima Foods began in 2019 as Associate CFO, and in 2022 he was named to his current position as COO.

Solid Proposals In The Retail Channel

After the success achieved in foodservice, catering mainly to the hospitality and restaurant industries, in 2019 Vima Foods was set for a brand renovation as it entered the retail channel, a process that became reality ahead of schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vima Foods works directly with factories and suppliers, placing more than 1,000 SKUs in more than

40 countries, making a name and reputation for itself also among consumers. A key factor for success in every new market is the company’s adaptability to the territory’s customary tastes and choices. This has been achieved by developing a sustainable operation which not only obtains the best of locally available commodities, but also by hiring more and more local staff -in executive positions, as wellknowledgeable about the market and consumers’ customs. products in every supermarket chain in the Dominican Republic, in different Mexican nationwide retailers, in supermarkets through Peru, Colombia and in the U.S. it’s a supplier for the Wild Fork brand.

“We’ve found out that hiring local executives is actually sustainable, becoming the kind of business we want to deploy: a sustainable model able to engage local community,” the COO commented.

Different product lines from Vima Foods are easy to single out, as these are grouped by the use of different colors in packaging, one for each variety.

Vima Foods’ experience in finding the best ingredients translates into servicing retail chains who rely on the company to develop their private brands.

“At the countries where we are at, we’ve had the opportunity to work along with our clients supplying a wide array of products in such a way that, even though our stronghold is frozen products, we’ve developed from cheese to tomato sauce or canned fish for clients in specific markets,” pointed out Moro.

Distribution Standards Matching Top Players In The Market

Vima Foods’ footprint around the world through its products and distribution network has resulted into becoming also the exclusive distribution partner for important brands in select markets.

Through certified processes and operations, Vima Foods has earned

Seafood

the trust of well-known brands such as Unilever, César Iglesias, El Corte Inglés, Kiliç and Bonagro, as to becoming their exclusive distributor in the Dominican Republic and other territories where the company runs a larger operation.

The relevance of becoming an important strategic partner for such big players implies not only to run optimal operations, but also obtaining key certifications that have taken Vima Foods to a privileged position.

“Partnering Vima Foods to big industry players is extremely interesting and positive for the group. This means we are doing things the right way, it boosts our reputation and increases the brand’s value,” Mazarrasa remarked.

UNITED STATES: A VENTURE WITH KEY PURPOSES

Vima Foods broke into the U.S.A. market by opening a new office in Miami with more demanding tasks