cathy cruz gooch
our founder
Cathy Cruz Gooch
An entrepreneur committed to quality, customer service and respect for all partners
Cathy Cruz Gooch has been involved with Hispanic foods for most of her professional career. A third-generation Mexican American, she is carrying on the culinary traditions of her grandmother, who excelled at creating simple dishes with exciting flavors.
Inspired by these food traditions, and spurred by her strong entrepreneurial spirit, Cathy Cruz Gooch helped launch the family business with her parents and husband in 1985, following her dream to bring the bread of Mexico to food markets in North America. She started out selling her tortillas a case at a time to supermarkets, working hard to grow their fledgling brand while showing an amazing ability to connect with customers. The business expanded to 23 states, and Cathy built many long-term relationships along the way because of her collaborative style, impeccable integrity and customer-focused approach to doing business.
In 1992, the company sold the Cruz brand and the retail business to a public company. Cathy then created Catalina Specialty Foods and continued to focus on distributing her authentic, home-style tortillas to foodservice customers. She had the expertise, the experience, the strategy and the vision – but she was still outsourcing production and wanted to build her own manufacturing capability to control quality and offer more collaborative support to the foodservice industry. In 2005, she realized her vision, partnering with Cargill Kitchen Solutions to launch Catallia Mexican Foods.
Cruz Gooch is dedicated to generating long-term growth, profitability and quality jobs, while holding onto her identity as a minority entrepreneur. She is committed to diversity through all levels of her organization, and she also supports the community by using products and services from minority-owned businesses whenever possible.
A loved and well respected member of local and minority business communities, Cruz Gooch was recognized for her innovative business leadership in 2008, when a Minneapolis non-profit agency, the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA), named her entrepreneur of the year. Throughout her career, Cathy Cruz Gooch’s culinary heritage and savvy business acumen have contributed to her success. Today, as always, she continues to create products that reflect the heart and soul of what good food should be — fresh, wholesome, delicious, and prepared with a commitment to quality and care.