The Deal
El Mexicano® Brand, the flagship label of Marquez Brothers International, has signed a multi-year partnership with Los Angeles Football Club that makes the Hispanic food brand the club's first-ever back-of-kit partner. The El Mexicano® logo will appear on the reverse of all LAFC first-team jerseys starting with the 2026 season, joining the club's so-called Golden Boot Club of elite commercial partners.
For convenience retailers carrying the brand's dairy, meat, and beverage SKUs across more than 10,000 U.S. outlets, the deal extends a marketing footprint that already includes a multi-year agreement with the Mexican National Soccer Team through Soccer United Marketing. Marquez Brothers — founded in 1981 and now operating seven manufacturing facilities and 17 distribution centers with roughly 1,400 associates — distributes products under several labels including Rancho Grande®, YoGusto®, and Latin Fusion® alongside the core El Mexicano® line.
Why C-Store Operators Should Note This
Hispanic food is one of the faster-moving segments on the foodservice and refrigerated-case side of the channel, where operators have leaned into authentic dairy and charcuterie formats to differentiate the cooler and grab-and-go sets. El Mexicano® products — fresh Mexican cheeses, cremas, cured meats, and packaged beverages — sit squarely in categories that convenience retailers have been expanding to capture Hispanic shopper traffic, a demographic NACS data consistently identifies as a high-frequency c-store customer.
The LAFC partnership amplifies brand recognition in the Los Angeles DMA, one of the densest convenience-retail markets in the West, and projects that awareness across national MLS broadcasts and digital platforms. "Soccer has always been at the heart of our company's story," said Gustavo Marquez Jr., CEO of Marquez Brothers International. "Our partnership with LAFC is a natural evolution of that history."
Activation Plans
Beyond the jersey placement, Marquez Brothers and LAFC plan in-stadium activations, community events, and digital and social content integrations around matchdays at the 22,000-seat BMO Stadium. LAFC Co-President and Owner Larry Freedman described the selection as intentional: "We set out to find a brand whose values and story reflect the communities we proudly represent across Los Angeles."
For SSOs and regional chains stocking El Mexicano® SKUs, increased brand visibility through a high-profile soccer club with a deeply engaged, multicultural fan base could translate to measurable lift in the refrigerated and packaged-beverage categories — particularly in markets with strong Latino consumer concentrations. The deal represents the brand's most prominent U.S. sports marketing commitment to date.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
