A real taste of Latin American fare comes to our supermarkets

AFTER moving to Ireland in 2019 from the Caribbean, Carol Diaz Rosario missed the comfort of home food and, noticing a lack of Latin fare in Irish supermarkets, she decided to start up her own venture Latin Streets Kitchen.

With the help of the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) South Dublin, Carol’s tasty empanadas are available at a number of SuperValu stores in the Greater Dublin region.

The business premises is located at Ace Enterprise Park in Clondalkin, and Carol hopes to expand into other supermarket brands and into the food service industry.

“I wanted to create something like this after I saw that Latin American foods are not widely available in Irish supermarkets. I am originally from the Dominican Republic, and I missed my home food so much when I moved. I know that the Latin American cuisine has so much to offer, and I wanted to share its flavours with my new Irish home,” said Carol.

Carol started working on the project in April 2022 and the business became operational in May 2023.

“I started developing the brand with the help of the Food Academy, a programme for small producers run by SuperValu, LEO and Board Bia. Throughout 2022 I participated in the programme, helping me bring the brand from an idea in my head to the shelves.

“Everything is going great for us. We started with six SuperValu’s in May this year, and at present we are up to 11 SuperValu’s across the Greater Dublin Area. We are hoping to expand into more stores early 2024.”

Carol says the help and support from South Dublin LEO has been invaluable and a “key element in bringing this brand to life.”

“We have received fantastic guidance and financial help from South Dublin LEO. They have made available a number of advisors that help me with finances, food safety, marketing, business management, and many other aspects of the business.

“Last year we also received a feasibility grant from LEO which helped me develop the appropriate packaging and get lab testing for my products. This grant also helped me to get equipment to do in-store tastings prior to launch to understand the customers’ feel for the product and the brand.

“I didn’t know much about the food industry in Ireland when I started, but LEO and Food Academy guided me through the process.”

Looking ahead, Carol plans to add more empanada flavours to the range in the upcoming months, as well as introduce other Latin American foods to the Irish supermarkets.

“We are in the process of expanding our production capacity, to which LEO has also provided great support. You can expect to see more LSK products in your local SuperValu and other supermarket brands very soon.”

For full access to all content on Echo.ie and to support the continuation of local news and local journalism in your community subscribe HERE.

Thanks for your ongoing support.