FILLO’s Rolls Out Whole Foods-Exclusive Tamale Flavors, Doubles Down on Distribution

FILLO’s, a Latin American-inspired food brand, is launching two new flavors of its Walking Tamales exclusively available at Whole Foods Market stores nationwide. The rollout bolsters the brand’s partnership with the natural grocery chain, established in 2017 when WFM became FILLO’s first retail account.

The new varieties – Corn Poblano Rojas and Sweet Corn Elotes, sold individually for $2.49 each – are starting to hit store shelves this month.

“The partnership [with WFM] has grown tremendously and is a relationship we value immensely to this day,” said co-founder and president Daniel Caballero. “Whenever we develop new products, Whole Foods is the first stop with any innovations we’re releasing.”

The WFM-exclusive varieties build on FILLO’s existing Walking Tamales line, which features savory flavors like Bean Salsa Verde, Bean Salsa Roja Tamales and Bean Salsa Habanero and sweet flavors such as Strawberry Coconut, Peanut Butter Piloncillo and Mexican Chocolate Almond. The products maintain the brand’s vegan and clean label standards while offering an alternative to conventional on-the-go bars consumed while biking, hiking, or traveling.

FILLO’s launched nearly 8 years ago with a line of ready-to-eat, shelf-stable sofrito pouches aimed at keeping Latin-American traditional foods alive while creating new, convenient ways to enjoy them.

While self-funding the initial working capital and trial investment, FILLO’s was able to operate capital efficiently by focusing on its core category and running the business with a small team, according to Caballero. Limiting the geographical scope and retail reach to certain accounts also helped the company run lean during its early years.

It wasn’t until FILLO’s began crafting its shelf-stable Walking Tamales line and working on its brand refresh that the company needed to raise capital. Because the brand had and still has the highest velocity pouch bean products in grocery, this also reaffirmed the company’s desire to accelerate distribution growth, said Caballero.

In 2021, the Geneva, Illinois-based company raised an undisclosed amount of capital in a round led by Clover Vitality, Spiral Sun Ventures, and SLoFIG. Since then, FILLO’s has closed “a few” rounds open only to existing investors.

“The decision to raise more capital is always made with an eye on the opportunity to grow velocity, distribution and awareness. Our capital has been deployed in the typical ways for any CPG brand, working capital, distribution growth, awareness, and investment in trial,” Caballero told Nosh.

He continued, “While we deploy capital, we always pay attention to various metrics like household awareness, velocity growth, contribution margin & revenue growth, along with any and all anecdotal feedback we receive from consumers.”

In seeking to disrupt the busy bar space, Fillo’s unique format presents an interesting challenge; the tamales are merchandised in different parts of the store depending on the retailer. At WFM, they are found in the meals and sides area or in the Hispanic foods/international section depending on the region. At Fresh Market and Target, the tamales are located in the international set and at Walmart they’re located next to the canned tamales.

According to Caballero, some retailers even merchandise them by the check-out counter alongside other grab-and-go items.

“Gaining consumer trial at the right time and in the right place is most important to us,” said Caballero. “When this happens, word of mouth spreads naturally for the product line. This is in addition to promotions and programs that are offered at the store level or other marketing efforts offline and online.”

The company’s North Star is remixing traditional foods in unique packaging so they can be enjoyed in new ways, with on-the-go meal occasions and continuous innovation being its current focus, according to Caballero. Whereas its sofrito pouches are positioned as a quick side dish or meal starter for home cooking, the Walking Tamales (250 calories each, with six grams of protein) add another dimension to the brand’s platform.

“We started turning our attention to product line extensions while thinking about how we can take traditional foods and package them in a way that’s convenient,” said Caballero. “We like the idea that you can take a tamale with you and enjoy it on the go, breaking [the product] free of just the lunch or dinner occasion.”

Outside of brick-and-mortar retail, FILLO’s Walking Tamales are “performing well in D2C.” As the company scales, it plans to release a variety of pack sizes and formats for different channels.

Though FILLO’s sells all 25 of its SKUs on its D2C website, Caballero said the brand is prioritizing brick-and-mortar retail sales. He estimates that the brand’s products are currently available in roughly 6,000 to 7,000 stores nationwide including Sprouts, Target, Publix and Walmart, among others.

According to Statista, the Latin American food market was valued at $25.8 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.6% between 2021 and 2028.

The company’s strongest differentiator is the fact its tamales are shelf-stable. Other competitors in the space include La Costena and Amy’s Kitchen – whose tamales are also available at major retailers like Target and Walmart – though both brands’ products must be microwaved prior to consumption.

FILLO’s hottest retail markets vary depending on the product line, said Caballero, with the Sofrito Beans seeing major success in Florida and up and down the East Coast while the Tamales possess a broader market reach spanning the Midwest and “many other regions throughout the country.”

Looking ahead, FILLO’s will spend the upcoming year expanding velocities and growth within existing retail partners such as Whole Foods, Sprouts, Publix and Walmart, among others. Additionally, the company is gearing up to activate several new distribution accounts, beginning with DOT Foods in March.