Norteño
NPD | Brand & Commercial Strategy | Scale-Up Support
Building an authentic Mexican snack brand for the frozen aisle
Norteño is a frozen snack brand built to bring authentic Mexican street food to UK shoppers. Founded by a team with deep category experience, the ambition was clear from day one: create a product rooted in real Mexican food culture, using proper corn tortillas and traditional chillies.
End-to-end product development
Range architecture and proposition
Regulatory, nutritional and front-of-pack compliance
Product & Campaign photography and launch assets
Commercial modelling and scale-up support
Manufacturer sourcing and outsourcing
Setting the scene
The frozen aisle has evolved rapidly, shifting from functional staples towards a space shaped by premiumisation and rising consumer expectations around flavour, ingredient quality and credibility. Norteño recognised this shift early and saw a clear opportunity where it intersected with growing demand for authentic Mexican food, as the market continued to move away from Tex-Mex across both retail and foodservice.
The founders identified a clear gap for a frozen product rooted in real Mexican street food. The challenge was not the vision, but translating that ambition into a product that could be manufactured at scale and succeed on supermarket shelves.
Trials to frozen aisles
We worked closely with the founders and their chef partner in Mexico to take Norteño from early concept through to frozen aisle readiness. Tabletop recipes and culinary inspiration were developed into scalable formulations that could perform consistently in a factory environment while staying true to Mexican street food traditions.
Alongside recipe development, we led manufacturer tendering and negotiations, securing a partner capable of hand-rolling taquitos at commercial volumes. We supported factory trials to lock in taste, texture and yield, and delivered the full technical backbone required for launch, including nutritional analysis, compliant labelling and packaging requirements.
We advised on range language and positioning as well as content creation, ensuring the brand entered the market with confidence.
The Results
Norteño progressed from early concept through to full factory production and secured a nationwide listing with Ocado, launching with two SKUs and laying a strong foundation for future range expansion. The range entered the market with a clear point of difference, rooted in authenticity and supported by a proposition that resonated with modern frozen shoppers.
The brand now has a scalable product range and a clearly defined position within one of retail’s fastest-evolving categories, with the structure, clarity and momentum in place to support continued growth.
“Good Food Studio have been instrumental in bringing our brand and product to market, from concept to manufacturing. The team at Good Food Studio truly care about our brand’s success, which is reflected by going above and beyond throughout the different project stages. We see them as an extension of the Norteño team when it comes to product development (and beyond). Thank you for all your hard work and support!”
— Luis Martinez Davila, Co-founder, Norteño