Mexican-inspired food is gaining ground in South African kitchens, with strong growth in taco formats, sauces and seasonings pointing to a growing consumer appetite for convenient, customisable global meal solutions.
The trend comes into focus around World Taco Day, celebrated on 6 October, with the latest six-month retail data to August 2026 showing significant growth across Old El Paso's core product categories.
According to data from DataOrbis, meal kits and taco formats grew 161%, compared with category growth of 1.4%. Sauces and salsas increased 108%, versus 74% growth for the competitive set, while Mexican seasonings recorded growth of 207%.
The performance comes after Rialto, part of the Libstar Group, assumed local distribution of Old El Paso in mid-2025 and began rebuilding the brand's retail presence and national availability.
For the business, the growth suggests that Mexican-inspired food is moving beyond an occasional dining experience and becoming increasingly relevant to everyday meal occasions.
“Mexican-inspired food is moving beyond the occasional ‘taco night’ and becoming a broader meal occasion,” says Derek Couzens, managing executive of Rialto.
“Consumers can adapt these formats to different tastes, budgets and dietary preferences, making them relevant for everything from quick weeknight meals to informal entertaining.”
Retailers respond to global flavours
The shift is also being reflected in the retail environment, where global food categories are gaining greater visibility.
Major retailers are increasingly treating global meals and flavours as a distinct category, with some introducing dedicated Mexican food sections in-store.
This creates an opportunity for brands such as Old El Paso to move consumers from purchasing individual ingredients towards complete meal solutions.
The commercial opportunity extends beyond tacos themselves. For retailers and food brands, the growth of complementary products such as sauces, salsas and seasonings creates multiple points of engagement around the same meal occasion.
Couzens says the next stage of category development will depend partly on helping consumers understand the range of formats available.
“There is an opportunity to simplify the differences between tacos, fajitas, enchiladas and burritos, and to show consumers how these meals can be adapted using familiar proteins, vegetables and toppings.”
From product to meal solution
The growth figures point to a broader change in how consumers approach international food at home.
Rather than requiring specialist ingredients or extensive preparation, meal kits and seasoning products allow consumers to recreate global flavours using ingredients they already know and purchase regularly.
That flexibility is particularly relevant in a market where consumers are balancing convenience, affordability and variety when deciding what to put on the table.
For retailers, the opportunity is to make those meal occasions easier to understand and shop, while for brands, it creates space to build demand across an entire meal rather than around a single product.
Rialto's local distribution role combines its experience in importing, distributing and developing global food brands with Libstar's wider capabilities and understanding of the South African market.
As Mexican-inspired food gains visibility in South African retail, the performance of Old El Paso suggests the opportunity may extend well beyond the traditional taco occasion — with global flavours increasingly becoming part of the everyday meal repertoire.
