Welcome!

In 1957 Avelino Maldonado began selling spices out of the trunk of his car. Within months, he leased a small warehouse and established La Criolla Foods to cater to independent grocers serving Chicago's growing Hispanic market. That same year, we introduced our specially-formulated Adobo La Criolla Seasoning. It continues to be one of our most popular items.

Today, although spices remain the focus of La Criolla Foods, our product line now includes many other products, such as a wide variety of beans, peas, olives, olive oil, sauces, pasta and more. Just as our product line has expanded, so has our position within the general marketplace where our products enjoy increasing popularity. In an ongoing effort to satisfy our loyal customers, we continually add new items to our product line, including spicier versions of our traditional blends. This wholehearted-attention to customer demand and service has helped La Criolla Foods grow from a local distributor of spices to an importer, producer and distributor of foods throughout the United States.

As a family-owned business, we also have built our reputation on the high standards of quality set in 1957. We take special pride in bottling all of our spices in glass bottles to preserve the best flavor, and we use only the highest-quality ingredients. No artificial additives, preservatives or dyes are added to any of our blends. Our customers can taste the difference, which is why La Criolla is "El orgullo de su olla" or "The pride of your kitchen."

Enjoy!