Wintertime is here. Christmas Carolers are out. The Christmas music is back. During this beloved time, the temperatures drop drastically with it being below freezing in certain parts of the world, and for many people that means hot chocolate.
There are dozens of brands popular for their making of hot chocolate such as Nestlé, Williams Sonoma Classic Hot Chocolate, Ghiradelli Cocoa, Godiva Hot Cocoa, Godiva Chocolatier Dark, and Swiss Miss, but for many Mexican-American Families, one brand more specifically comes to mind. Abuelita Hot Chocolate is made with Mexican chocolate with a sliver of cinnamon, and the perfect balance of sugar and vanilla.
For many generations, Nestlé Abuelita has been a crucial component of Hispanic culture. Many people replace the traditional cocoa with the Nestle Abuelita powder and use it to bring authentic flavors to the menu. However, as of 2020, Nestle Abuelita has slowly made its way off the store shelves due to a legal battle that up until September of 2023 has been kept on the down low.
In 2020, Nestle USA filed a complaint against Ultra Distribuciones Internacionales and Ultra Distribuciones Mundiales for importing and selling Nestlé Mexico products in the U.S. District Courts in Western Texas. They claimed that “Nescafe, Nido, Abuelita, Media Crema, Carnation, and La Lechera–were only meant to be sold in Mexico and the ‘parallel imports’ are confusing their customers and have harmed Nestle USA’s business”. According to Axios, if Nestlé were to win the battle the products would be removed from the US and the more expensive American versions will be put in their place.
Many have taken to social media platforms to express their opinion on the matter.
“Absolutely not, they should share the wealth of Abuelita Hot Chocolate”, said Santa Rosa Academy student, Victoria Navares
The trial was brought up to court this past November and is still going on. On the other side of the fight, Ultra Distribuciones Internacionales said in a statement to Axios, “This is an infernal money battle between Nestle USA and Nestle Mexico, and the American consumer is the one who stands to lose.”
Those who represent Nestle USA have not responded to any of Axios commentary and have yet to release a statement on the matter.
If Abuelitas Hot Chocolate is removed from the shelves, people are saying that Nestle’s share of profit will decrease exponentially and the less money there is, the fewer products Nestle will be able to sell.
