Marisol Plata Q&A

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Marisol Plata Jose Andres ThinkFoodGroup


Director of Consumer Products and Licensing,
José Andrés ThinkFood Group


Throughout the pandemic, Chef José Andrés’ nonprofit World Central Kitchen has been at the forefront of dining a solution. Next fall, his iconic brand is set to expand its New York City footprint. Zaytinya and Bazaar by José Andrés are set to open in Nomad’s Ritz-Carlton New York.

Restaurants across the nation are preparing to receive their Restaurant Revitalization Fund grants. With that many operators are looking for new and creative ways to utilize the funding. Among these options is the creation of a retail brand to bring the best of these restaurant flavors to the home consumer. José Andrés Foods has been providing consumers with the recipes and authentic ingredients necessary to recreate authentic Spanish dishes. Chef Andrés has been bringing Spanish flavor to the United States for twenty years and his team’s drive to provide consumers with high-quality, authentic foods has allowed people to taste the distinctive taste of international fare.

Recently, with the vision and guidance of Marisol Plata, Director of Consumer Products and Licensing, Jose Andres ThinkFood Group has partnered with Gourmet Foods International (GFI). The goal of the collaboration is to reach new marketplace opportunities throughout the country for José Andrés’ ThinkFood Group.

Total Food Service sought out the expertise of Marisol Plata. With a mission of understanding what goes into the successful execution of the brand building, Plata takes us inside wholesale distribution and unveils how José Andrés Food connects with its foodservice and retail professionals.

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Your background in hospitality is impressive. Please share your background with our readers.

I have been working with José Andrés for about seven years, managing his retail and food product line since I have started. Before that, I worked with Nike in Central and Latin America, where my interest in international products and food grew. When I moved to D.C. after working with Nike for several years, Andrés was just starting his product line and he had an opening for a marketing manager with experience in hospitality. This opportunity looked extremely exciting and creative, and has definitely proved to be.

How has the company’s agenda evolved since joining the team?

When I first joined, the company had just started with the José Andrés food product line, so naturally, the company was extremely marketing-focused where we were building personal relationships with our international culinary teams. José wanted to be very involved in the product line– he knows the suppliers, understands the background history behind how each product is crafted, and from this generates stories we are able to share with our team, as well as our customers. My role as a marketing manager meant setting up and presenting demonstrations, interacting with customers, establishing marketing events with retailers, and going to trade shows. As the business grew, I took over the operation of food where I was building retail experience for the group for the first time. This was something we hadn’t done before, and having managed Andrés’ product line for a few years and understanding the goal of brand authenticity, I was able to contribute to brand direction and purpose. Working with our culinary team to understand what we represent, as well as working with artisanal brands, we were able to expand our food retail line. This meant that we could open our first retail space and create a website for it, which has provided new growth opportunities as well.

José Andrés Foods
Dinner parties made easy with José Andrés Foods (Photo credit: Reema Desai)

Is there a concern that mass distribution and larger companies will take over the retail business?

I think that despite growing online sales and larger distributions, there is still a need for brands that tell a story. Consumers want to know what is behind a brand now more than ever. This is where we drive value, where our insight and connections with international professionals make us stand out. The way we approach our commerce and marketing is through storytelling and authentic direction. For example, we are hyperspecific in informing our customers about a Spanish holiday and how to replicate a traditional dish that is used to celebrate that day. We have a unique approach to being connected with what is happening in Spain, how they curate their meals and then inform our consumers of how they can recreate it in their own homes. Our company differentiates in its authentic approach and how we tell stories through food. We’re not only providing customers with a product, but we are providing them with cultural insight. We begin with the story and this gives value to our consumers.

What is the relationship between the retail experience and the in-restaurant dining experience?

There is a strong relationship and overlap between our retail and in-house dining experience. We have an amazing database of recipes and foods our guests love when they come into our restaurants. We provide guests with delicious Spanish dishes they could get in Spain, and we want them to be able to recreate this through their retail experience. This means that some of the products we use in our restaurants– olive oil and sherry vinegar, for example– we sell on the retail side.

Why Spanish products and cuisine?

Spanish products have historically been known for their high quality. Behind each product and dish, there is a story, tradition, or memory behind it. The company has a unique opportunity to bridge that story of Spanish cuisine to the American marketplace. We have an opportunity to give Spanish products the spotlight it deserves without consumers having to travel to the country to experience the authenticity.

How have you had to adapt to the challenges this year has brought for the foodservice and retail industry?

It came as no surprise that our online sales grew tremendously. It was important that we continued to manage our relationships with distributors directly, while we handled the imports of goods. As restaurants were closing, we took the time to consider where and how we wanted to grow. Our retail presence was strong in the cities where we were located, specifically in the Mid-Atlantic region, but we were still looking to expand. Restaurants essentially were readapting their business strategies and were building from the bottom. With morale low among the restaurant world, we continued to consider our options and made the strategic choice to partner with Gourmet Foods International as a master distribution partner. A key challenge for us is logistics, and with GFI’s partnership, we have been able to better understand distribution management. GFI has helped us understand the fragmented marketplace and through its relationships with retailers, we have been able to make new connections. GFI is a gourmet food distributor and their team has been experts in the nuances of exporting products from Spain and presenting a product for years. Brian Scott, president of GFI, and his excellent leadership team have successfully established nine warehouses nationwide. We are confident that they are positioning us for growth.

What changes did the pandemic bring to your company?

Like most of the foodservice industry, we had to rely on take-out and delivery services to ensure our consumers continued to enjoy our products. We transformed key items, considering how our in-house experience could be brought to the customers’ homes. This is when we introduced our paella to-go kit, which is essentially a meal kit and take-out experience in one. The 11.5-inch pan of paella serves 2-4 people and instructions are included. Consumers can have that memorable experience of creating a traditional Spanish dish, and keep the pan for future recipes. A paella dish is an experience and we were challenged to make it an experience on the go. We additionally added QR codes to our marketing strategy and our team’s constant drive ensured we put authentic dishes in front of our customers. As herd immunity is just around the corner and pre-Covid experiences are soon to be enjoyed once more, I think some of the foodservice changes that were introduced in the pandemic are here to stay. Technology resources throughout the pandemic proved to bring an opportunity of flexibility to retail and food service providers around the world. A lot of the sustainable changes, such as QR codes, have proven to be effective ways to advertise.

José Andrés
José Andrés with José Andrés Foods (Photo credit: Greg Powers)

How has technology helped grow your brand?

Social media has given us a unique opportunity to drive content to potential customers. When customers make decisions about products, quality content and storytelling are important aspects of their decision-making process. Technology provides countless opportunities to market– you can create short video instructions, produce highlights of events, and present pictures of products. When José was quarantining at the start of the pandemic he started filming his own cooking videos with his daughters. It was him being himself and this was a unique take on telling stories and gave viewers a new way to learn about who we are as a company. Our brand comes from a creative culinary machine, and with technology resources growing, we’re able to best showcase our products.

What does the future of the company look like? Are there any specific goals you have set?

Our future expansion in New York will undoubtedly help expand our brand on a gourmet level. There are countless traditional grommet professionals across the city who can help us connect with experienced international teams. From a brand standpoint, we hope to leverage and work with NY retailers to expand our offerings and continue to establish personal relationships with consumers and distributors. We are excited to launch restaurants, Zaytinya and Bazaar in Nomad’s Ritz-Carlton New York this coming fall season. With a future chef and product line in the New York metropolitan area, we are excited about the connections and opportunities this brings towards our growth.

What are the next steps for customers interested in your retail and/or food products?

For more information and wholesale opportunities, go to thinkfoodgroup.com and follow @joseandresfoods.

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  • Texas Pete