(Reuters) - Goya Foods Inc, the largest Hispanic-owned U.S. food company and a popular brand among Latino Americans, became the target of a boycott campaign on social media on Friday sparked by its CEO effusively praising President Donald Trump at the White House. The hashtags #Goyaway and #BoycottGoya began trending on Twitter after Robert Unanue, chief executive officer of the New Jersey-based company, appeared with Trump on Thursday for the signing of an executive order creating an advisory panel aimed at spurring Hispanic prosperity. “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,” said Unanue, the third generation of his family to run the business. “We pray for our leadership, our president, and we pray for our country that we will continue to prosper and to grow.” The event at the White House came as Trump’s re-election campaign sought to boost his standing among members of a key constituency who have often felt alienated by his policies and political rhetoric. Reuters/Ipsos national polling shows only about a quarter of registered Hispanic voters chose Trump in a matchup with his Democratic rival, former vice president Joe Biden. Among those in the forefront of calls for a boycott were two leading Hispanic politicians in the Democratic Party - former presidential candidate Julian Castro and U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Castro wrote on Twitter that Goya had been a staple of many Latino households for generations. “Now their CEO, Bob Unanue, is praising a president who villainizes and maliciously attacks Latinos for political gain,” he said. “Americans should think twice before buying their produces.” Ocasio-Cortez suggested to her 7.5 million followers on Twitter that they find homemade alternatives to Goya’s popular Adobo seasoning. Goya products are pictured in the specialty food isle at a Ralphs grocery store in Pasadena, California, U.S., July 10, 2020. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni United We Dream, an immigrant youth-led social action group, launched an online boycott petition that said Unanue had “aligned the Goya brand with Trump’s white supremacist agenda.” “If Goya wants our business, they must respect and fight for our humanity,” the group said. Unanue defended his comments, however, and said on Friday that the calls for a boycott of the company amounted to an attack on his freedom of speech. “I’m not apologizing,” he told Fox News. “When you’re called by the president of the United States, you’re going to say, ‘No, I’m sorry, I’m busy, no thank you?’ I didn’t say that to the Obamas and I didn’t say that to President Trump.” Separately on Fox News, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway decried the controversy. “It’s just a shame that people make everything so politicized, including food,” she said. Countering online calls for a boycott was the emergence of the #BuyGoya” hashtag, which drew the likes of Hollywood actor James Woods, who praised Unanue for setting “a good example in the fight against liberal terrorism.” U.S. Senator Ted Cruz said on Twitter that his grandparents ate Goya black beans twice a day for nearly 90 years. “And now the Left is trying to cancel Hispanic culture and silence free speech,” the Texas Republican said. Politically motivated calls for economic boycotts have become commonplace on social media in recent years, with mixed results. It was too soon to tell whether the anti-Goya campaign would generate enough support to damage the bottom line of a privately owned company that ranks among the leading distributors of packaged Latino foods in the United States, Europe and the Caribbean. Trump himself weighed in on the dispute late on Friday, writing on Twitter simply: “I LOVE @GoyaFoods!”
While a lot of people believe politics and religion don't mix, Goya is finding that business and politics sometimes don't either. Now, following Unanue's comments praising Trump, the food maker could see an impact, at least in near term, on its sales. Unanue's comparison of his grandfather and Trump as builders was referring to the family-owned company's origins. Goya was started in 1936 by the current CEO's Spanish grandparents as a storefront business selling authentic Spanish products, like olives and olive oil, to local Hispanic families in Manhattan. It has since grown into one of the largest Hispanic-owned food businesses in the country, boasting 4,000 employees and a wide portfolio of 2,500 products, including beans, seasonings, cooking oils and frozen products. Since 2004, the company has been run by the founders' grandson, Robert Unanue, who previously told Fox Business he has been with the company since he was 10. But now Unanue is the latest to be in the hot seat for supporting Trump. Thousands of people on social media are calling for shoppers to stop buying from the company. The phrase #BoycottGoya quickly started to trend as consumers criticized the CEO for supporting a president who they believe hurt Latin Americans and immigrants with his controversial immigration policies. The opposition to Unanue's comments could help Goya's competitors, as people on social media started to promote similar companies like La Preferida and Badia, as well as share their own recipes for products like adobo. Other food companies have been judged for their interaction with the Trump administration. In 2018, Nathan's Famous faced an uproar after its Executive Chairman Howard Lorber held a fundraiser for Trump; many people threatened to boycott the hot dog maker. In 2017, companies including Hershey, Mars and Jelly Belly were reportedly targeted in an anti-Trump boycott because the National Confectioners Association hosted its annual conference at the Trump National Doral resort. Although these backlashes cause a stir on social media, they don't always end up causing any significant movement in sales. As news of the boycott spread, a counter movement began with conservatives and Trump supporters using the #BuyGoya hastag. Senator Ted Cruz tweeted that "Goya is a staple of Cuban food. My grandparents ate Goya black beans twice a day for nearly 90 years. And now the Left is trying to cancel Hispanic culture and silence free speech. #BuyGoya." Amid the backlash, Trump also expressed his support for the brand tweeting, "I LOVE @GoyaFoods!" The company has widely promoted its philanthropy efforts during the pandemic as it has donated hundreds of thousands of pounds of food. The New York Times reported on Friday that the company put out a release about Goya's donation for the White House initiative, but didn't mention the backlash. The longtime CEO doesn't seem too concerned with the retribution since he has since stated he isn't apologizing. Unanue also said he would not turn down future invites. "I didn’t say that to the Obamas and I didn’t say that to President Trump," he told Fox. As international flavors have become more popular in the U.S., consumers have increasingly sought out ethnic food. And as the market for Hispanic foods specifically has continued to grow, Goya has reportedly attracted and rejected a $3 billion offer to buy the company. During the pandemic, Goya has seen a major boost in sales as consumers turn back to center-of-the-store products. The question now remains whether or not this boycott will actually come to fruition enough to hurt its bottom line and reverse its positive sales boost. Adriana Waterston, senior vice president of Horowitz Research, told the Associated Press that Goya regularly is one of the most trusted brands in studies she conducts. This could mean consumers feel especially betrayed but the brand's popularity will make a boycott hard. "This Goya thing is going to go down as one of the biggest marketing faux pas of the year," Waterston said. |