Although recently launched on the market, deCancio Foods hopes to become the favorite of Cuban kitchens. “The best in every home” is the intention that became the new brand slogan that had its global launch in the context of the FIHAV 2023 Havana International Trade Fair.
Created by Cuban-American businessman Hugo Cancio, president of the Fuego Enterprises company, deCancio Foods pays tribute to a family legacy and also, to Cuban roots and traditions, even though it does not intend to be marketed only on the island.
Its presentation, this Tuesday afternoon at the Fuego stand and the Katapulk Marketplace was one of the events of the day at the Fair and was attended not only by participants and the press accredited to FIHAV but also by authorities such as the Cuban First Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Ana Teresita González, foreign diplomats, and well-known artists.
In the presentation, Cancio highlighted “the Cubanness” of the brand, which for the moment imports its products from the United States, and he explained the reasons for launching it on the island.
“My personal story cannot be separated from Cuba, because it begins in Cuba and has always remained very connected with my country, with my roots, with my people. This is why, when I was thinking about where to launch deCancio Foods, which is an international brand and is not made only for Cuba, I decided to launch it here, because it seemed to me that it was in my country where it should be done because I consider it to be a very Cuban brand,” he commented.
In dialogue with the popular host Héctor Villar, the businessman said that his idea was to create “a brand that was ours, with Cubanness, with good flavor, with quality, with a good price,” that would become “popular” among Cubans, compete in the markets and stores with international brands and become a reference on the island and also outside of it.
Regarding its name, the Cuban-American businessman stated that it was due to “a family decision.”
“I am the only male in my family, after my father. I have three sisters and three daughters, and when I die my father’s last name will cease to exist, and this was a way that I found so that that last name, that legacy, can continue,” explained the son of Miguel Cancio, the only living member of the famous musical group Los Zafiros.
Not only in Katapulk and not only imported
deCancio Foods offers a wide catalog of food products that includes grains, rice, canned vegetables, meat and seafood products, dairy products, pasta, and spices, among others.
For now, these products are imported to Cuba. They are sold exclusively through the Katapulk sales platform, belonging to Fuego Enterprises. Still, the intention is to open their sale in other spaces and, later, also produce them on the island.
“Starting next month, deCancio products will be open to all types of marketing in Cuba, with state companies, because we already have a license for that, and also in stores in the non-state sector. Our products will be available to anyone who wants,” Cancio announced at the launch of the brand.
“In a second phase, the idea is to produce them in the country, guarantee them with national production, ours and through collaborations with independent producers, to strengthen the deCancio brand in Cuba and supply the national market from the country itself and also, why not, export them,” he added.
In his presentation, Hugo Cancio confirmed his “120% commitment to Cuba’s growth, to helping my country and my people.”
“I think that until the last day of my life, I will continue fighting to open spaces and build bridges between my two communities, that of the United States and that of Cuba, and that other Cubans who live in the United States also have the opportunity to come to the country with their companies and products,” he said.
Cancio denied that he is “the only one” with that will among Cuban emigrants, particularly in the community residing in the United States.
“There are many Cuban-American businesspeople who are already in Cuba, some who are even at the fair right now,” he said, “and that is what it is about, building bridges, establishing collaborations, contributing to this necessary process of economic opening that is occurring, with the will of the authorities, for those of us who live outside the island and want to contribute to the country.”
“A significant moment”
For her part, Ana Teresita González considered the launch of deCancio Foods at FIHAV 2023 “a very important moment.”
“What Hugo Cancio has started, first marketing and then with the idea of producing here, is an example of what we can do, what can be achieved, working together, based on the political will of the Cuban government and with the contribution of Cubans residing abroad,” said the first deputy minister of MINCEX in statements to the press.
González highlighted the purpose of deCancio Foods to “get to produce here with a foreign investment project that makes it possible to really take advantage of the installed capacities that exist in Cuba, based on the supply of inputs and raw materials.”
“We believe that there is great potential in our country that, with the contribution not only of the Cubans who live on the island but also of those who reside in other countries, can be used in a more efficient way for the benefit of our economy and the population, and this path that deCancio Foods has set out is a path that others can follow,” she considered.
“This is why,” she repeated in closing, “I believe that the presentation of this brand is a very important moment for Cuba and for the Cubans who, even if they do not live here, love their homeland, and are willing to continue working for the economic development of our country.”
Author
OnCuba Staff
I am looking forward to buying deCancio Foods at my local supermarket.