Our Story
Alejandro, a corporate accountant, and Andrew, a business intelligence manager were looking to take on a passion project but what?… Alejandro had grown up between Mexico and Vancouver and loved the variety of foods that exist in Mexico. His favorite by far was the “Cacahuates Japoneses” which he always brought back in bulk from his trips to Mexico and would share with his friends. Over time they became a favorite among his friends who would often ask for him to bring them some back whenever he went to Mexico. After his last trip to Mexico he introduced Andrew to the “Cacahuates Japoneses” and from that Senor Nut was born!
Our Nuts
The “Cacahuates Japoneses” is one of the most popular snacks in Mexico, specially in the cantina culture where they are a staple “botana” (a botana is any Mexican snack that goes well with beer). They are referred in Mexico as peanuts japanese style and the history is a bit interesting….
During the late 19th century there was an influx of Japanese Immigration into Mexico as a result of Emperor Meiji and Mexican president/dictator Porfirio Diaz efforts to increase ties between the two countries. One of these migrants was Yoshigei Nakatani, who in 1932 came to Manzanillo before moving to Mexico city where he fell in love and met his wife, however in 1941 war had broken out between the United States and Japan and as a result of Mexico’s close ties with the US many Japanese immigrants were forced to move into segregated neighbourhoods within Mexico City and Guadalajara. These were difficult times for Japanese immigrants and Yoshigei lost his job and having to support his family of 5 he had to figure out a way to get by. He had apprenticed at a candy shop in his hometown of Sumoto Japan so he began making “Muegano” a traditional Mexican candy. He continued with it and began experimenting with different candies and snacks until he came up with the recipe for “Cacahuates Japoneses”. These were a huge hit in the neighbourhood and within a few years he industrialized the process and it wasn’t long before his creation became a staple in the world of Mexican snacks that can be found anywhere from the local soccer stadium to the modest cantina.