A while ago, probably more than a year ago my friend Leah asked me "Mexicans use a lot of MSG in their food, right?" and I replied "hmm, not that I know of, I don't think so". When she asked me this, I imagined the white crystals - MSG in it's purest form. It wasn't until months later that I thought of Knorr's Caldo de Pollo. I was looking at the back of the bottle one day and realized it really is just MSG with a little party hat on. And honestly, yeah I feel like we put that shit in EVERYTHING. And why wouldn't we? When I am cooking a meal and it's missing something - guess what? sprinkle sprinkle.
But first, who is she? Who's Knorr? How did she infiltrate the Latin community and how did she become so iconic? I have a shit memory, but I always remember that Knorr had a booth at the Latin Festival that was held at Underground Atlanta at least one year (holy shit, so iconic - bring it back!! I swear I saw Gloria Trevi there). I don't know why I have that specific memory, but it was probably because as a child I was confused as to why I got merch from a seasoning.
A German company founded in 1838, its founder, Carl Heinrich Knorr, experimented with and sold dried soup and it was in 1912 when he came up with, the greatest invention ever, the bouillon cubes. Wait, if he's German why do we use French "bouillon"? Anyways. Since 2000, Knorr has been owned by Unilever (who isn't) and it's actually their highest selling brand! Annual sales up to 3 billion euros.
Also, for the longest I wondered why we call it Knorrsuisa, but I just read on their wiki page that in many countries in Latin America it's known as Knorr Suiza (so my mom didn't just make that up).
Fun Fact Break: Switzerland has a Knorr mascot that debuted in 1948 and inspired by mountain gnomes. His name is Knorrli!!! :-( I love him - not surprisingly he is a household name in Switzerland.
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| CLICK PHOTO for SOURCE & WONDERFUL ARTICLE ON HIS STORY (+ vintage Knorrli art!!) |
I wanted to focus on Knorr from a Mexican perspective because no ones trying to read a deep dive on chicken bouillon - but tell me why my heart rate increasing as I start to read the article on Mexico's Knorr "double digit growth" in the last couple years. Where do I stand in my feelings for Knorr . . . yes all I have done is praise it. But my praise is attached to it from the perspective of someone who isn't a whiz in the kitchen. To think that we're just relying more and more on artificial, mass produced flavors just ... rubs me the wrong way. But am I right in that sentiment? Let's keep going.
Unilever, like they knew I would want to know all of this a few months later, published an article in July of this year where they chat with their CMO, Foods Latin America on how they've been able to grow in Mexico from 4% (2023) to 13% (2024) and how they accomplished a presence in 9 out of 10 kitchens. Essentially, their marketing team took a "social-first" campaign strategy where they leveraged celebrity, influencer, and television opportunities. Their focus is on the younger consumer (I mean is this not every brand's strategy? not sure, I'm not in marketing) and it has made it to Mexico's top 5 brands.
"These bold, social-first campaigns and influencer-led strategies provided the perfect opportunity for us to engage with younger consumers and showcase our core products as the ultimate flavour hack for top dishes for a new generation of home cooks"
As much as I make a face at the quote below, it's a brand's mission truth:
"To fulfil our ambition of delivering the most authentic and culturally resonant brand experience for Mexican consumers, we crafted a strategy redefining bouillon not just as an ingredient but also as an essential part of Mexico’s culinary identity."
As someone in consumer products, I can relate. The goal is to make the customer feel like we're an essential part of . . let's say your family's special holiday tradition, essential storytellers and shot callers of. . . I don't know, let's say the North Pole and Christmas. If I read the above quote in the context of Christmas - I'd say the same thing, you can't OWN CHRISTMAS!!! Just like KNORR shouldn't have a say in Mexico's culinary identity.
In the short article, they share 3 case studies. The first case study included propping up billboards and murals all across Mexico City's busiest avenues and a cooking competition through one of Mexico's top shows - La Casa de Los Famosos. I know Yuri is a fan, so I will have to ask if she saw the Knorr Minados competition (....cute name.). The other two case studies used famous singers and Mexico's top TikTok stars.
At the end of the article the CMO shares how he'll continue to build on the success, staying three steps ahead on trends in "technologies, top partnerships, and content creators" and shares that their aim is to:
"continue to deliver a best-in-class experience for all Mexicans, addressing their needs and inspiring them to use Knorr as their top flavour companion."
And then on the other hand, after all my heart beating, I am thankful for Knorr? The marketing campaigns effects spread throughout all of Mexico, but it seems the key to unlocking it is through Mexico City. And if you know anything about Mexico City, the lifestyle is just GO GO GO and Knorr is obviously all about convenience and having all those rich, salty, and umami flavors at your fingertips. Never mind that the younger generations are not as talented in the kitchen as they should be. If the brand is listening to the consumers, tailoring to the culture and traditions, making life a little easier, and helping us to keep cooking and recipes alive. . . then hmm not so bad?
Okay, the last part on keeping Mexican cooking alive is kind of a big claim and really just purely anecdotal. Again, I am not a cook, but if I think of following a Mexican recipe - I am always confident I could get the flavor right but this is only because in my mind, Knorr is always present. If I didn't have any Knorr on hand, all my confidence on getting the right flavor would be lost. So here's me, a young cook, given a boost to cook and share my cooking, only with Knorr's helping hand. Does anyone else feel like that way?
On short form video recipes I've seen across TikTok and Instagram, whether it's taquitos, sopita, espaguetti verde, tamales, pozole, arroz - I have seen the girlies use chicken bouillon. I swear to you one day I had the dark thought that I immediately had to push away - . . is Mexican cuisine increasingly relying on that yellow gold to make it delicious? Does it just feel that way because the videos I've seen are more quick weekday recipes for a busy life? What were we doing before Knorr? If Knorr has existed for more than a century - can we even remember a time before it? And if it's been present for that long. . . does it have a proper, well earned, place in Mexican cuisine?
One more quick online search and I found a Salon article titled "How Knorr Seasoning Became a Staple in Mexican American Cuisines", but it actually provided no insight on this question outside of Knorr working with consultants to tailor to different market's tastes and that's how it took off [and according to this 2019 article, Indonesia and Mexico, in that order are the bouillon's largest markets (US is fourth)]. The author also shares stories of two or three Mexican American chefs that remember using bouillon in both their mothers and grandmother's kitchen and so it brings me back to - does it just belong in Mexican or Mexican-American cuisine? Is there a distinction in the Knorr domination timeline between these two?
Add this to the list of things I really need to know.
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