You’ve heard of the American Dream but have you heard of the Mexican Dream?
What started in 1942 as a way for Sir Jesús Michel González to support his family turned into a passion for the people of Mexico and a desire to produce quality candy.
In the early 1940s, Jesús Michel González and Elvira Velasco Rolón started a family candy business in effort to support their 13 children. As they began to sell and distribute their hand-made specialty candies throughout Guadalajara, the need for more variety in their candy selection was imminent.
At the time, the family hand made lollipops and marshmallow treats but the competition was fierce and similar candies began popping up all over town.
So, the family decided to take a risk and produce another type of candy, one that would be favored over the other candy makers and brands.
Jesús Michel was familiar with the recipe for almond marzipan, but found that the almond seed was very expensive, so he modified the formula and used crushed peanuts instead. He came up with a round, delightfully sweet and peanutty soft candy, that melts in your mouth like cool, peanut butter flavored icing.
It was an instant success! Everyone who tried his peanut marzipan candy loved it and he knew that he was on to something special. At the time, all of the candies were wrapped by hand and distributed from store to store outside of of Guadalajara. People began to call the delicious sweet treat, Marzapan de la Rosa due to the fact that the candy wrapper had a rose flower printed on it.
De la Rosa is a Spanish surname, which means “of the rose”.
“The marzipan is a candy made for the people and the people gave it its name”- Jesús Michel González
Fast forward to today, De La Rosa Mazapan has turned into a classic Mexican candy, perfect for any occasion. It makes for a great dessert or a quick sweet snack and is suitable for kids and adults alike!
With a presence all over Mexico, you can find this delightful peanut candy throughout school cafeterias, convenience stores, and even retail shops. What began as a family business with marzipan made in small houses with copper saucepans has transformed into a full on production with more than 2,500 employees.
The De La Rosa candy company now has several factory locations in Mexico and even exports candy to parts of the world such as Central America, United States, Canada, and the European Union. Before, marzipans were packaged by hand; today, this phase is done by machines and automated factory systems.
The company has grown substantially over the past 70 years and despite other emerging candy brands, it doesn’t look like anything would slow this family business down.
For more information on the De La Rosa brand and candy products visit: https://dulcesdelarosa.com.mx/en
Sheena L.A. is a marketing professional and owner of boutique content house, and co-founder of a boutique video production company based in Florida.
