How Casa Verde disrupted plant-based food with traditional Latin American flavors

Next up in our Hispanic Heritage Month Creative Excellence series, Guest Editor Carmen Rodriguez hands over to Harry Lewis.  Guatemalan-born Lewis is the Chief Disruptive Growth Officer at Grupo Mariposa, the leading manufacturing and distribution company in the food and beverage business in Latin America. He is also the Founder of Ilinel Food Company, a minority-owned culinary startup launching Casa Verde – a ready-to-eat Latin Américan-inspired line of entrees in the US. Ilinel Food company is backed by Bia Foods, one of the fastest-growing culinary and coffee companies in Latin America. 

Prior to this experience, Lewis spent 18 years at Anheuser-Busch In-Bev, holding different marketing roles including vice president of new premium and super premium brands. He serves on the board of Xavier Mission, a New York City for-impact organization that strives for a future where all people, regardless of economic status, are treated with dignity and respect, and are given the opportunity to realize their goals. 

"I loved seeing Harry move from being my client for so many years to becoming the founder of Casa Verde, an amazing company focused on Latin-inspired foods," said Rodriguez. "He’s so inspirational and I’m grateful for our friendship and the work we’ve done together over the years."

After nearly two decades working as a corporate executive at Anheuser-Busch In-Bev, I decided to take a break to re-evaluate my life priorities. I’m originally from Guatemala, so my first step toward re-focusing my passions was going back to my roots in Latin America. While there, I had the opportunity to reconnect with amazing people that opened my eyes to a new world of opportunities. It was on these travels that I was reminded of my love for food and the deep history of nutrition in Latin America. 

For me and most Latinx people, food is a love language. Our recipes are meant to be passed down from generations to generations and enjoyed with loved ones as a shared experience. With this inspiration, I decided to found Ilinel Food Company and launched Casa Verde in 2021. Ilinel, in traditional Mayan language, means: “The plans that nurture us.” I wanted to create nutritious plant-based, ready-to-eat meals made from ancient ingredients and traditional flavors. It has been amazing to be able to bring Casa Verde to life and get into the food business where I could focus on nurturing America with delicious meals prepared with love. 

We launched our first four flavors in 2021, and we have been disrupting the market by bringing the first authentic Latin ready-to-eat meals so people can enjoy our flavors and our culture with ease nationwide. It has been a privilege to be able to assemble a team of incredibly intelligent and talented Latin individuals from six different nationalities and with vast experiences in the food and beverage business who have helped us to develop, grow and expand our offerings across the country in just under a year. 

Through this new venture with Casa Verde, I love sharing the fun, sexiness and colorfulness of my heritage and bring affordable wellness to communities across the United States. For every case we sell, we donate four meals to communities in need across America. And in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we launched our "Feel Latino" campaign to encourage consumers to bring authentic Latin food into their homes and to show them the true meaning of "Mi casa es su casa" – gathering around the dinner table with a delicious meal and spending time together with your loved ones. The campaign was developed by The Trade, a cultural innovation studio in NYC that is Latin co-owned.