Tia Lupita releases first upcycled tortilla, expands grain-free product line

Company: Tia Lupita Foods

Introduced: July 2020

Distribution: National

Suggested Retail Price: $7.99 (pack of 10)

Product Snapshot: Tia Lupita, a Bay Area Mexican food brand popular with Gen Z, is debuting an upcycled tortilla, the latest addition to its popular grain-free cactus tortilla line which has gained market share against major category players over recent months.

The new tortilla is the result of a partnership between Tia Lupita and Renewal Mill, a fellow Bay Area business leading the way in upcycled flour innovation. Renewal Mill’s signature ingredient, organic okara flour, is a grain-free flour with neutral taste and superfood benefits that fits seamlessly into the tortilla’s ingredient deck which includes other superfoods such as chia seed, avocado oil, and of course, nopales (cactus). The resulting tortilla will be launching via Amazon this month, where Tia Lupita has risen to distinction as the #1 New Release in the Flatbread Cracker category, and will be moving to retail shelves later this summer.

CEO Hector Saldivar set out with the goal of making the most sustainable tortilla on shelf, with fewer calories and fewer net carbs than competitor brands, and knew he’d found a perfect partner in Renewal Mill. Renewal Mill’s CEO Claire Schlemme met Saldivar through the Naturally Bay Area community during this year’s Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco. Both companies are also members of the recently formed Upcycled Food Association, which is educating consumers about the critical climate benefits of food waste reduction and helping catalyze novel partnerships between upcycling brands during the COVID-19 crisis.

This is the latest in a line of partnerships for the burgeoning ingredients company which have included everything from ice cream (Humphry Slocombe) to baby food (Square Baby) to grain-free chips (Pulp Pantry). “This partnership showcases the versatility of okara flour. It can play in every category of the store, adding environmental, functional, and nutritional benefits to our partners, while allowing them to tap into a new story that resonates with the eco-conscious audiences they are trying to reach,” said Schlemme.

For his part, Saldivar added, “This generation of eaters is demanding better: better nutrition, better transparency, and better accountability from the brands they buy. By partnering with Renewal Mill, we are able to deliver on those demands.” Choosing upcycled is one step towards his long term vision: saving the world one taco at a time.

Grain-Free Okara Tortilla Product Details: