The Bolivian CPG Brand Taking Over U.S. Grocery Shelves

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The Bolivian 🇧🇴 Snack Winning Retail and Customers

In much of South America, cheese bread isn’t just a food, it’s a staple of the culture. Brazilians have Pão de queijo, Argentinians and Paraguayans enjoy chipa, and Colombians and Ecuadorians have their own versions, too. These soft, warm, cheesy breads show up at family gatherings, corner bakeries, and are breakfast staples across the continent.

But in Bolivia, the tradition has taken on a unique form. Unlike the soft cheese breads of its neighbors, Bolivia’s version undergoes a double-dehydration process, turning it into a ready-to-eat, crunchy snack.

It’s a format that doesn’t exist anywhere else in South America, and one that often surprises people who swear the snack must be Brazilian or Colombian because of its familiar flavor base.

That blend of familiarity and surprise is exactly what’s helping Cassavida, a new Bolivian-founded CPG brand, carve out space in the U.S. market, online and on retail shelves.

For decades, Mexican cuisine dominated the conversation around Latin American food in the U.S. “I don’t think Mexican food is a ‘trend’ anymore,” Cassavida Co-founder Christina Schenstrom explains. “It’s become an everyday staple, almost like American food.”

With that shift, consumers are increasingly curious about flavors from other parts of Latin America. Shoppers are seeking new regional stories, new snack traditions, and new ingredients that reflect the continent's diversity, not just the cuisines closest to the U.S. border.

For the founders, this moment feels especially exciting.

“I think the period right now in the CPG industry is super interesting,” Christina says. “I think there's a big curiosity and openness to new flavors from Latin America in general, which I think is very exciting for South America and Latin America.”

Christina and her brother Carlos left Bolivia to study at the University of Kansas.


“My brother was doing his master's when I got there. We started noticing that Americans have this obsession with cheese, and love really crunchy things. We thought they just had to try cuñapés. They would love them. Whenever we brought them from home, they wouldn't last very long, and everybody would like them.”

“We always think people should know more about Bolivia and the amazing things we have.”

A Bolivian Identity Years in the Making

Christina and Carlos grew up in Bolivia, raised in a deeply entrepreneurial household. Their father was a serial entrepreneur, and the instinct to build something of their own was ingrained early.

At the same time, the siblings kept encountering the same question from people: Where is Bolivia even located?

They wanted people to understand where they came from. They wanted Bolivia’s food traditions, ingredients, and stories to be known the way Brazil’s or Mexico’s were. Food felt like the most natural way to share that identity.

The idea stuck with them for more than 20 years.

“We thought this would be like a fun little project or something. We had no idea what we were getting into. Like, zero CPG industry experience or anything,” Christina says. Then, during the pandemic, they finally decided to go all in on Cassavida.

They quickly discovered what every CPG founder learns: no matter how good your product is, the industry is far more complex than it looks.

The Hard Lessons of Entering CPG

“Honestly, we went into an industry we were absolutely clueless about,” Christina says.

Launching from Bolivia added another layer of difficulty. Then came the toughest part: branding. Early advisors told Christina and Carlos not to lean into Bolivia at all.

“People don’t care,” they were told. “Bolivia isn’t Brazil. It isn’t Italy. And your product is already new. If it’s new and from a place no one knows, it’s too random.” So they tried to play it safe and toned down the Bolivian story.

“So we kind of tried to make it look more neutral, and we weren't being completely genuine in what we wanted,” recalls Christina. “The product was the same, and the product was great, but our story was based on other things that didn't feel real.”

“Within the first couple of years, we realized that people weren't even understanding what was in the package. So we went through a whole rebrand in 2024. It’s really been a great growth curve.”

For the first time, the brand fully embraced its origins, and consumers responded.

Connecting with Customers IRL

Christina and Carlos just spent a month in Southern California running demos for grocery chain Sprouts. People genuinely appreciated the product’s simplicity and authenticity. Because shoppers didn’t know they were the founders, they spoke freely.

Two reactions stood out:

• Confusion turning into curiosity. Many shoppers had never seen their product in packaged-goods format before. The shape, size, and texture were unfamiliar. But that unfamiliarity turned into engagement

• Deep appreciation for clean ingredients. In a world saturated with ultra-processed snacks, the simplicity resonated.

One of the cool things Christina and Carlos did at each demo spot was to set up VR goggles so customers could take a mini trip to Bolivia. “We like to call ourselves the food tourism board of Bolivia, where people get to know Bolivian food,” Christina shares.

“We had a friend of ours make a really amazing video of Bolivia. We would go to the stores and ask people, "Hey, we want to take a 10- or 20-second trip to Bolivia on VR." We created this whole experience, and people got to talk about the places that they like.”

Getting into Retail at Sprouts

Getting on retail shelves has been a long process for Cassavida, but has paid off with a positive response across Sprouts stores. That’s how I spotted them for the first time, while grocery shopping.

“Everything takes a really long time in CPG,” shares Christina. “Buyers have to find a spot in their agenda and on their shelves.
We pitched for the Sprouts Innovation Set in April 2024. And we didn't start the innovation until September 2025.“

“We were trying to be super loud. Our packaging is flamboyant, loud, and Latin. Sprouts saw our packaging, and they were trying to see if we would be a good fit. We had to convince Sprouts of the ingredients and say we want to say things differently.”

“In three months, Sprouts sees your velocity, how much you're selling in stores, and if you sell enough, they'll keep you,” Christina says. “So we went nationwide in September, and by week six, we were having an outstanding velocity. We did really well. So by week eight, Sprouts was like, okay, yeah, you guys are staying.

“Getting into a store is easy,” shares Christina. “Staying is the hard part. Not staying is also very expensive.”

Cassavida has rolled out nationwide at Sprouts and will continue to expand its retail presence on other grocery store shelves soon. They just became one of the official snacks for first-class customers on American Airlines as well.

A Brand Rooted in Tradition, Poised for the Future

From Bolivia to the U.S., from a 20-year idea to a national retail rollout, the brand’s journey has been anything but linear. But its story reflects something bigger happening in consumer culture:

• Shoppers want authenticity.

• They want global flavors.

• And they want clean, real ingredients.

This Bolivian snack is not just introducing consumers to a new product, it’s introducing them to an entire culinary tradition that has gone largely unexplored.

For the founders, that mission is personal. “People should know more about Bolivia,” Christina says. “And food is the perfect way to share it!”

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We’re back next week with an interview with the founder of Chulo Hair, a Latino-owned hair-care brand based out of LA, with Mexican roots. My favorite slogan I have come across ➡️ Modern Latino haircare, inspired by our abuelitos. 💈