AMDP Final: Siete Family Foods Investment Recommendation Memo

Jack McAdams 

TO: Professor Clark Hansen, CEO, AMDP                                 
FROM: Jack McAdams, Research and Development Analyst 
DATE: 8 March 2024
SUBJECT: Siete Family Foods Investment Recommendation Memo
 
As an analyst on the research team at Anima Mundi Development Partners, it is my job to scout businesses that represent the values we emphasize, including social responsibility and environmental sustainability, while remaining profitable. After careful research, I strongly recommend investing in Siete Family Foods, a healthy alternative food brand based in Austin, Texas. This investment memo will present the following information that was taken into consideration when deciding whether to invest in the Siete Family Foods: 

• The considerations each potential investment at AMDP is held to. 
• A personal and financial overview of Siete Family Foods. 
• Outside opinions regarding Siete Family Foods.
• Personal recommendation for investing in Siete Family Foods.

AMDP COMPANY CONSIDERATIONS FOR INVESTMENT

Before making an investment, AMDP assures that the investment being made embraces the following standards:

• The Triple Bottom Line

The triple bottom line emphasizes that companies, such as ours, prioritize measuring their societal and environmental impact in addition to measuring their financial performance. When measuring our impact, AMDP considers the three P’s:

• Profit - Making a positive impact on society while remaining profitable.
• People – Having a societal impact on all stakeholders, including customers, employees, and community members.  
• The Planet – Acknowledging our social responsibility to positively impact our world rather than harm it (Harvard Business School Online). 

By considering these factors, we can ensure that the enterprises we choose to invest in align with our company standards. 

• Corporate Social Responsibility 

Corporate social responsibility, expressed through a company’s initiatives and strategies, is a company’s responsibility to leave a positive impact on society. Corporate social responsibility can take multiple forms, those being:

• Environmental Responsibility – A company’s responsibility to remain as environmentally friendly as possible. 
• Philanthropic Responsibility – A company’s responsibility to improve society while making the world a better place. 
• Ethical Responsibility – A company’s responsibility to operate fairly amongst other enterprises. 
• Economic Responsibility – A company’s responsibility to practice financial decisions that will ultimately do good for the world (Harvard Business School Online). 

At AMDP, we invest in enterprises that participate in corporate social responsibility, for our company standards embrace all aspects associated with the term.  

• Social Enterprise: 

A social enterprise is a company that strives to make specific societal impacts while maximizing profit. The primary objective of any social enterprise it to make profit. Following that, a social enterprise will then try to reach “its social, economic, or environmental outcomes outline[d] in the company’s mission” (Corporate Finance Institute).  

• Carbon Footprint 

A carbon foot print is “the sum total of all greenhouse gas emissions that had to take place in order for a product to be produced or for an activity to take place ” (Mulvaney). It is measured by assessing the carbon dioxide emissions that result from the creation of a product or for an activity to take place. 
 
Why does AMDP care about our carbon footprint? AMDP acknowledges that a smaller carbon footprint leads to harmful greenhouse gases that induce climate change and negatively impact our environment. When making an investment, AMDP looks for companies that have created ways to minimize their carbon footprint resulting in less damage to the environment. 
 
SIETE FAMILY FOODS OVERVIEW:

To get a holistic overview of Siete Family foods, the section will cover the following aspects of Siete Family Foods:

• Company Background 
• What Exactly the Company Does
• Company Revenue
• Company Ideals

Company Background – A Leader in the Healthy Alternative Food Space 

Siete family foods came about when Co-founder and President, Veronica Garza, adopted a "low inflammation, elimination diet," due to autoimmune issues she encountered (Garza). To still enjoy the Mexican American food she grew up on, Garza came up with a grain free alternative, that being an almond flour tortilla, which would inspire Siete Family Foods. The company came about in 2014, and experienced tremendous growth, selling its products nationwide across “16,000 stores” and counting in 2022 (Conrad). Through their philosophy, focused on creating "heritage inspired", problem solving, and good tasting products, Siete Family Foods has become one of the fastest growing Mexican-American food brands in the United States (Siete Foods). 
 

What Exactly The Company Does - Simple Substitutes for Healthier Options

Siete Family Foods strives to do the following: create healthy, good tasting food with low impact ingredients, allowing them to branch out to a broader group of consumers. 

Ingredients used in Siete products compelling ingredients including the following: 

• avocado oil
• organic beans
• almond flour
• organic corn
• chia seeds (Siete Foods). 

The products derived from these ingredients allow for a healthier take on the traditional Mexican American food most are familiar while catering to individual’s diets and dietary restrictions. 

Company Revenues 

Since 2014, Siete Family Foods has seen a significant increase in its revenues:

• In 2018 Stripes Groups invested 90 million dollars into the Siete Family Foods enterprise (Conrad).
• Following 2018, in 2021, the addition of new products resulted in a revenue "jump more than 30%" (Chmais). 
• In 2022, the company would be projected to make more than "250 million dollars in retail sales" in 2022 (Kavehkar). 
• The company was projected to hit "400 million dollars in retail sales" at the end of 2023 (Conrad).
• Growjo, a website focused on company data enrichment, estimates the company’s makes "30.5 million dollars" annually.  

Company Ideals – Sharing the Values That We Value

Furthermore, Siete Family Foods is conscious of their carbon emissions, taking large initiatives to reduce the company’s impact on the environment. For instance, they use new and exciting primary ingredients in their products, such as cassava, which “produces almost ten times less the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that potatoes do” (Safdie). As a result, their products have a very low carbon footprint compared to other products, such as their grain free tortilla chips which have "an estimated carbon footprint of 36 grams gCO2eq per serving” (GreenChoice). 

 

As we prefer at AMDP, Siete Family Foods is a social enterprise. In 2021, Siete Family Foods Introduced the “Juntos Fund,” an annual monetary reward given to chosen Latino entrepreneurs. The Juntos Fund highlights Siete's commitment to honoring the community members that embrace the Mexican American culture Siete Family Foods proudly represents. This year, Siete Family Foods will be rewarding numerous entrepreneurs with rewards totaling from "$25,000, $10,000, or $5,000" (Kavehkar).

OUTSIDE OPINIONS:

Being a successful private company, Siete Family Foods has been reviewed by many credible establishments. The reviews of Siete Family Foods all seem to be the same, with every establishment concluding with positive remarks. For instance, in 2021 The New York Times praised Siete Family Foods for creating a culture within a work for home society, noting that business wants "the team to know one another as if they were family" (Haimeri). By creating a bingo game that allowed employees to meet each other remotely, giving employees workout equipment and access to virtual Zoom workouts, as well as conducting surveys to adapt work policies to workers needs, the New York Times notes how Siete Family Foods excelled in creating a culture compared to other enterprises. 

Futhermore, Bloomberg applauded Siete Family Foods for managing to evolve "from a weekend-only operation" to a "budding empire selling premium" (Moffat and Joshua). In 2022, Food Business News noted that Siete Family Foods was on a "journey to becoming an iconic global brand" (Watrous). Lastly, Forbes also included Siete Family Foods in an article regarding food technologies to curb climate change, taking note of how the brand incorporates "climate-resilient ingredients" within their products (Harris). 

PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION

Few companies currently have a significant presence in the healthy alternative food space, with Siete Family Foods being one of those companies. Additionally, the company's revenues prove that its enterprise is attractive to many consumers and that its future appears prosperous. With little competition in an emerging space in the food industry that is evidently profitable, Siete Family Foods has made itself a desirable investment. Considering that the Siete Family Foods philosophy aligns with the standards of AMDP in every aspect, both AMDP and Siete Family Foods would benefit significantly from our investment in their enterprise. 

Works Cited

“Buy Siete Family Foods Sea Salt Grain Free Tortilla Chips - It’s Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Vegan , Highly Nutritious & Climate-Friendly.” GreenChoice, www.greenchoicenow.com/p/siete-family-foods-sea-salt-grain-free-tortilla-chips#:~:text=Free%20Tortilla%20Chips%3Fn%20Free%20Tortilla%20 Chips%20has,reduces%20pollution%2C%20and%20protects%20wildlife. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

Conrad, Jennifer. “Why Siete Family Foods Is Giving $2 Million to Latino ...” Inc., www.inc.com/jennifer-conrad/why-siete-family-foods-is-giving-2-million-to-latino-businesses.html. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

“Food Philosophy.” Siete Foods, sietefoods.com/pages/food-philosophy. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

Garza, Veronica. “Our Story.” Siete Foods, sietefoods.com/pages/our-story. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

Haimerl, Amy. “Creating Culture in a W.F.H. World: How 3 Small Businesses Did It.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Aug. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/business/remote-work-small-business.html. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

Harris, Shayna. “Five Food Technologies to Curb Climate Change.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 20 Jan. 2023, www.forbes.com/sites/shaynaharris/2023/01/19/food-technologies-to-curb-climate-change/?sh=475061b034d3. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

Kavehkar, Kimya. “Family Is the Foundation of One of the Most Successful Mexican American Food Brands.” Texas Monthly, 10 Oct. 2022, www.texasmonthly.com/food/family-is-foundation-siete-mexican-american-food/. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

Moffat, Anne Riley, and Josyana Joshua. “Gluten Free Mexican Food: Siete Aims to Be $1 Billion Brand.” Bloomberg.Com, Bloomberg, 7 July 2021, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-07/gluten-free-mexican-food-siete-aims-to-be-1-billion-brand. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

Mulvaney, Kieran. “What Is a Carbon Footprint-and How to Measure Yours.” Environment, 24 June 2022, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/what-is-a-carbon-footprint-how-to-measure-yours.

Safdie, Stephanie. “What Is the Carbon Footprint of Your Favorite Food?” Greenly, 24 Mar. 2023, greenly.earth/en-us/blog/ecology-news/what-is-the-carbon-footprint-of-your-favorite-food. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

“Siete Family Foods Revenue and Competitors.” Siete Family Foods: Revenue, Competitors, Alternatives, growjo.com/company/Siete_Family_Foods. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

“Social Enterprise.” Corporate Finance Institute, 7 Oct. 2023, corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/es  g/social-enterprise/. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

“The Triple Bottom Line: What It Is & Why It’s Important.” Harvard Business School Online, 8 Dec. 2020, online.hbs.edu/blog/post/what-is-the-triple-bottom-line. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

Watrous, Monica. “Inside Siete Family Foods’ Journey to Becoming an ‘Iconic Global Brand.’” Food Business News, Food Business News, 29 Nov. 2022, www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/22721-its-a-family-affair. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

“What Is Corporate Social Responsibility? 4 Types.” Harvard Business School Online, 8 Apr. 2021, online.hbs.edu/blog/post/types-of-corporate-social-responsibility. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.