Despite competition from imitators, Embotelladora La Cascada plans to make its mark in the U.S.
For the past 60 years soft drinks manufacturing company
Embotelladora La Cascada SA has been synonymous with the taste and flavour of El Salvador. Its products are 100 per cent Salvadoran, and its best-known brands include Salva Cola, Kolashanpan and Cascade juices in different variations.
Cascade products stand out not only because they are 100 per cent Salvadoran, but also because they have the lowest price in the market – one of the company´s key strengths. However, La Cascada faces tough competition, and currently has seven competitors imitating the Kolashanpan brand – hence the slogan “Kolashanpan, la original”.
Having started in El Salvador in 1948, the company has expanded into Guatemala and Nicaragua, and now has its eyes on the biggest prize of all… Ing. D. Alfonso Molina Portillo, Executive Director of Embotelladora La Cascada, is particularly excited about his company’s future overseas.
“The U.S. market is very important to us. America is for us the biggest opportunity for the next decade. The market is so large we cannot put limits on it; our growth is continuous and we know that at some point it will grow exponentially. We are interested in partnerships with supermarkets and convenience stores…. to distribute our products. And we don’t want to limit ourselves to just the nostalgia market [among expatriate Salvadorans] – we are also interested in the Afro-American market.”
Mr Portillo also welcomes the opportunities for trade brought about by flexible government policies. “Since the Free Trade Agreement was signed there have been many more opportunities. The exchange of goods and services has been more flexible, and there has also been an exchange of technological knowledge. Also, being a dollarized economy helps us analyse costs better, as there is no currency fluctuation.”
