After Goya Foods CEO Praises Trump, a Goya Boycott Launches With Memes and DIY Recipes

A boycott of Goya Foods — a Latinx-owned company famous for producing pantry goods and seasonings — has launched after its CEO praised President Donald Trump during a visit to the White House. High-profile Latinx politicians like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro were among those calling on people to #BoycottGoya amid a selection of spicy memes about the news.

“It’s such an honor, it’s such a blessing to be here, in the greatest country in the world, the most prosperous country in the world,” Robert Unanue, CEO of Goya Foods, said at the White House on Thursday, where he was attending a meeting of the Hispanic Prosperity Initiative. “Today, it gives me great honor — and by the way, we’re all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump, who is a builder. And that’s what my grandfather did. He came to this country [from Spain] to build, to grow, to prosper.”

“And so we have an incredible builder,” Unanue continued. “And we pray. We pray for our leadership, our president. We pray for our country, that we will continue to prosper and to grow.”

A clip of the remarks quickly went viral on Twitter, where reactions were harsh ahead of pledges to boycott Goya Foods. On Friday morning, in a Fox News interview, Unanue reacted to the backlash, and doubled down on his praise of Trump.

“It’s suppression of speech,” Unanue said of the boycott, highlighting his 2012 work with the Obama White House as evidence of what he agreed was a double standard. “I’m not apologizing for saying--,” Unanue continued, before interrupting himself to say he wouldn’t turn down a presidential invitation. The Goya Foods CEO went on to laud Trump’s business deregulation efforts.

But critics were quick to point out what Trump’s other policies have meant for the Latinx people for whom Unanue was apparently trying to work with the president to ensure the prosperity of.

“@GoyaFoods has been a staple of so many Latino households for generations,” Castro, former secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Barack Obama, wrote on Twitter. “Now their CEO, Bob Unanue, is praising a president who villainizes and maliciously attacks Latinos for political gain. Americans should think twice before buying their products.”

“Oh look, it’s the sound of me Googling ‘how to make your own Adobo,’” wrote AOC, who also shared a DIY Adobo recipe a friend sent her.

Homemade recipes for some of Goya’s most beloved products — Adobo, Sazón, and Sofrito — also went viral. Other people offered up some of their favorite alternative brands to Goya, like La Preferida, La Costeña, Sun Vista, smaller brands, and more. Mijente, a Latinx and Chicanx justice organization, asked their followers for input on alternatives and got an entire thread’s worth of options.

Others showed off just how dedicated they were to Goya products, posting photos of collections of Goya goods with a warning that the company had lost a loyal customer. And while some mourned the loss of pantry staples, others took the chance to highlight what they feel the brand represents in a capitalist society.

Miguel Salazar, research director for The Nation, wrote on Twitter, “Any sort of kinship you imagined having with that brand was 100% marketed to you.”

Or, as Twitter user @ThomasPoptart put it in a topical twist on the “Friendship Ended” meme, “Friendship ended with Goya, now realizing there is no ethical consumption under capitalism is my friend.”

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