above: Miguel Leal is bringing his culinary and busines expertise to at-home Mexican fare.
Miguel Leal, co-founder and CEO of SOMOS Foods, is on a mission to change the way Americans experience Mexican food at home. With a résumé that includes leadership roles at KIND, Kettle Chips and Cholula Hot Sauce, Leal now calls Fairfield County home—and it’s where SOMOS is thriving. We sat down with the Old Greenwich resident to talk about food, identity, entrepreneurship and why he believes Stamford might just be the next great food startup hub.
Q: You were born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico. What are some of your earliest food memories, and how have they shaped your vision for SOMOS?
Miguel Leal: I come from a big family—I’m the oldest of 32 cousins. We spent weekends at both of my grandparents’ homes. Saturdays we’d eat at one, Sundays at the other. There were all these rituals around meals: what was served, who sat at the kids’ table versus the adults’. My grandma would even rank how much she loved her grandkids by how much of her food they ate. It was all love, family and culture at the lunch table. Those are my favorite memories.
Q: What brought you to the United States?
Leal: I came to the U.S. for graduate school. I had a scholarship to study at Wharton. I never planned to stay. My identity was very rooted in Mexico. But during my second year, I met my wife, who’s from the Midwest. One thing led to another, and I ended up staying. This country gave me an education, a family and opportunities. I realized I didn’t have to give up my culture to live here. Fifteen years ago, I became a U.S. citizen. I’m still Mexican, but now I’m also American, and I’m very grateful.
SOMOS products make quick work of creating easy, healthy and flavorful meal.
Q: How did you end up in Fairfield County?
Leal: We originally lived in San Francisco, and I was working at Kettle Chips. After we sold the company, I got an opportunity with KIND that brought us to this area. We had friends here and loved being near the water. It felt comfortable. Then I worked on the Cholula brand, and we built the team in Stamford. When it was time to start SOMOS, we didn’t even look anywhere else. We had fallen in love with the area, and Stamford has a lot to offer—talent, community and, surprisingly, a small but growing food scene.
Q: What makes Stamford a good home base for a food startup like SOMOS?
Leal: There’s a strong pool of young talent here, and we’ve found other food entrepreneurs in the area—especially in ethnic food. We started doing happy hours, getting together with founders, bankers, suppliers, even recruiters. It’s a very supportive community. When we launched SOMOS, we started in a shared space in Stamford. It’s been a great place to grow.
Q: When did you know that food—and storytelling through food—was going to be your life’s work?
Leal: Looking back, the signs were there from childhood. My mom used to take me across the border to shop in Laredo, Texas. I’d spend hours in the grocery store choosing just one item. There were so many things we didn’t have in Mexico—peanut butter, fish sticks, sugary cereals. Later, after business school, I had job offers from a laundry detergent company and a snack company. My wife said, “Why are you even thinking about this? You hate laundry and love food.” She was right.
Q: What inspired the name “SOMOS,” and what does it mean to you?
Leal: SOMOS means “We are” in Spanish. We started the company four years ago during a time of tension around immigration and Mexican identity in the U.S. Our hope was to play a small role in bringing these two cultures together. Mexican food is now the most popular ethnic food in America. It’s a $68 billion market. We wanted to challenge the idea that it has to be greasy or complicated. We’re building a community through food.
Q: How is SOMOS different from other Mexican products in the grocery aisle?
Leal: In restaurants, Mexican food has completely transformed in the last decade. You see birria, mole, tacos from all over Mexico. But the grocery shelf hasn’t changed. It’s still taco shells, seasoning packets and Monterey Jack cheese.
We want to bring what’s happening in restaurants to home kitchens. Our products are convenient, better for you and rooted in regional Mexican cuisine. We make it easy—sauces for your protein, sides that heat in 90 seconds. You can make a meal in 10 minutes, feed four people for under $25, and it’s better than ordering delivery.
Q: Was being plant-based and shelf-stable part of the plan from the start?
Leal: Yes, for this first chapter. We wanted to come out strong with clean labels and challenge the idea that Mexican food has to be heavy or unhealthy. We’re not saying we’ll always be plant-based and shelf-stable, but it was important to start that way to make our point.
Q: You’ve held leadership roles at brands like KIND, Kettle and Cholula. What lessons from those experiences have you brought into SOMOS?
Leal: The biggest thing I learned is that every successful brand solves a real problem for its consumer. At SOMOS, we spend a lot of time understanding our customer. We do tons of research. We want to be the smartest brand in the category, and being close to our consumer helps us move fast and stay relevant.
Q: As a Mexican immigrant, how has your identity influenced how you build teams or connect with your audience?
Leal: I’ve been lucky to work on some incredible brands, and now I feel a responsibility to support other Latin founders. Fifteen years ago, there weren’t many people who looked like us in the food industry. That’s changed.
We organized a dinner at Expo West [a natural product trade show] with over 100 Latin founders. We also created an aisle at the trade show dedicated to Latin-owned brands. It’s about helping each other grow. We believe the tide lifts all boats.
Q: What excites you most about the future of SOMOS?
Leal: We’re building strong partnerships with retailers. It’s exciting to see them embrace the vision we have for this category. I’m passionate about helping more people—especially those who didn’t grow up with a Mexican abuela—learn to cook delicious meals at home.
Q: If you could put one SOMOS dish on every dinner table in America tonight, what would it be?
Leal: A burrito bowl—our sweet corn rice, our black and pinto beans and our new birria cooking sauce, which is launching at Whole Foods.
Q: What’s your favorite SOMOS product right now?
Leal: The pinto and black beans with street corn. We launched it last month, and it’s quickly becoming our No. 1.
Q: Where can people find SOMOS?
Leal: We’re in 11,000 stores nationwide, including Walmart and Target. And all of our products are available at Whole Foods in this area.