Jarritos gains popularity in Canada with old fashioned pop made in Mexico.
Judy Yu is excited about Jarritos, the the brand of Mexican pop that gaining popularity in Canada. Yu is a marketing for JL International, which imports and distributes Jarritos and is promoting a recent campaign featuring recipes for cocktails using the exotic flavoured sodas from restaurateurs and mixologists around the country like Vij’s and Lisa Marie.
I talked to Judy Yu on the phone last week after receiving a press release, which peaked my curiosity. My kids order Jarritos sodas when we go out for Mexican food. They seem to enjoy the exotic flavours, like Tamarind or Guava, and my wife and I always try a sip. To our palates, they don’t seem to sweet and actually taste like the fruits they’re supposed to. Was this heretofore Mexican brand of pop catching on beyond our local taco spot.
According to Yu, the answer is “si”, interest in Jarritos is growing: “We’re seeing a lot of expansion, even outside of the Mexican-flavour concept, because the flavours work well in the family concept and also all kinds of fusion cuisines, especially Asian. And we have our ‘behind the bar’ campaign, so a lot of places are using Jarritos for cocktails as well.”
As with the recent trend for Mexican Coke, some of the appeal for the pop made in Mexico is that it’s made more or less in the same way for more than 60 years, so it tastes like pop used to before the advent of high-fructose corn syrup in Canada and the USA. It’s a point You made explicitly, explaining, “Jarritos has a long history, and they’ve kept true to the product that they created in 1950, which means using natural cane sugar and real fruit flavours.” And, she went on to explain, it’s not just what’s in the bottle: “Jarritos are really focused on giving consumers an old fashioned experience. Even the bottle is not a twist-off, so there’s an aspect of nostalgia for adults but also a really fun experience for kids.”
Consumers do seem to be catching on. When I asked Yu if the brand was getting easier to find, she said, “Jarritos is already in all major retailers, and if you’re looking for a full list of what’s available you can always go to the jarritos.ca website.”
