Hispanic Heritage Month at Work: Office Snack Ideas & Latinx-Owned Brands to Try

Key Takeaways

• Bring Hispanic Heritage Month into the pantry by featuring Latino-owned snack and beverage brands like Siete Foods, Barnana, Fillo’s, and Casa Humilde. It’s an easy way to introduce employees to new flavors and brands while celebrating from September 15 through October 15.
• Build the celebration around your employees. Ask your team what they’d like to see, create opportunities for Latino colleagues to share their cultures if they choose, and partner with your DEI team or Latino ERG to shape programming that feels meaningful and inclusive.
• Make diverse sourcing part of your year-round pantry strategy. Crafty’s My Products filtering makes it easy to discover and stock Latino- and minority ownedbrands, helping you build a product mix that reflects your workforce beyond heritage months.

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at Work

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month  is an opportunity to bring culture, connection, and discovery into the workplace. Stock your pantry with snacks and beverages from Latino-owned brands, create opportunities for employees to share their cultures and traditions, and ask your team what would make the celebration meaningful to them. Here are a few ways to bring Hispanic Heritage Month to life at work.

From September 15 to October 15, Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM) is a US national celebration of the rich cultures and unique contributions of American Hispanics and Latinos. The month also coincides with many Latin American countries’ independence days, such as Costa Rica, Mexico, Guatemala, and Chile.

In the U.S., Hispanics are the fastest-growing labor force group, with the Department of Labor projecting their numbers to reach 35.9 million by 2030. Here’s how you can celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at work in a fun and inclusive way with a few simple office snacks.  

How Did Hispanic Heritage Month Start

HHM began as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon B. Johnson, later expanding into Hispanic Heritage Month, and was enacted into law in 1988. To give you an idea of just how many cultures are included in HHM, Spanish is the official language in about 21 countries.

As you approach this celebration, you might be wondering, what does “Hispanic” mean anyway? It can be a loaded term for many. If you want the Merriam-Webster definition, Hispanic means “of or relating to the people, speech, or culture of Spain.” But in reality, many people and governments define it differently. 

Additionally, there is the term “Latino” or “Latinx” (the gender-neutral version), which means someone who is from or is a descendant of Latin America. In this way, someone from Brazil (which is located in Latin America but does not have Spanish as its official language) may identify as Latino but not Hispanic. And someone from Spain is Hispanic but not Latino.

For the purpose of this article, we will include the cultures and people of Hispanic and Latin American countries in these HHM office celebration ideas.

LatinX-Owned Office Snacks to Enjoy

Food is a cornerstone of any culture–and that’s especially true for Hispanics. After all, Lima, Peru, is known as the Culinary Capital of Latin America (some would even say the world!). If you’re looking for office drinks and snacks to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, look no further than these Latinx-owned brands, all of which can be found and ordered on Crafty.

Dark Matter Coffee: LatinX-owned Coffee Roaster

Chicago-born Dark Matter Coffee brings bold flavor, creative storytelling, and direct-trade sourcing to the office coffee experience. Founded in 2007 by Jesse Diaz, the Latino-owned roaster works with coffee producers across Latin America, including El Salvador, Mexico, and Guatemala. Its distinctive blends make it an easy way to bring something local, culturally connected, and a little unexpected to the workplace.

• Unicorn Blood (Espresso Blend): A bold espresso blend for upgrading the everyday office coffee routine.
• A Love Supreme (House Breakfast Blend): An approachable house blend that works well as an everyday workplace coffee.
• Chocolate City (Cold Brew): A ready-to-drink option for employees who prefer their caffeine cold and convenient.

Jarritos: Mexican Soda for the Office

Founded in Mexico in 1950, Jarritos brings bright fruit flavors and a recognizable Mexican favorite to the office fridge. Made with cane sugar, its colorful lineup gives employees an easy way to discover new flavors while adding more variety to the standard soda selection.

• Mandarin Soda: The iconic citrus flavor and a Jarritos classic.
• Pineapple Soda: A bright, tropical option for employees craving something fruity.
• Fruit Punch Soda: A sweet, fruit-forward flavor that brings even more variety to the beverage mix.

Solely: LatinX-founded Whole Fruit Snacks

Founded by Mexican entrepreneur Simon Sacal, Solely turns whole, organic fruit into simple snacks with short ingredient lists. Its fruit-forward lineup is a strong pantry addition for teams looking to balance familiar treats with better-for-you options employees can grab throughout the day.

• Organic Mango Fruit Jerky: A chewy, naturally sweet snack made with organic mango.
• Organic Mango Whole Fruit Gummies: A fruit-based take on the classic gummy format.
• Organic Pineapple Fruit Jerky: A bright, tropical option that adds another whole-fruit flavor to the pantry.

Barnana: Brazilian-Founded Organic Banana & Plantain Snacks

Barnana turns bananas, plantains, and cassava into snackable pantry favorites while working with farming communities across Latin America. Founded by Brazilian entrepreneur Caue Suplicy, the brand combines bold flavors with an approach to sourcing that helps reduce food waste, making it a great fit for workplaces looking to bring both variety and values-aligned brands into their snack mix.

• Organic Ribbed Plantain Chips (Himalayan Pink Salt): A crunchy, salty alternative to the traditional potato chip.
• Organic Chewy Banana Bites (Dark Chocolate): Chewy banana and dark chocolate come together for a sweet pantry option.
• Organic Cassava Chips (Sea Salt): A simple, savory snack that brings a different kind of crunch to the chip lineup.

Rip Van Wafels: Latino Co-Founded Stroopwafel Snacks

Co-founded by Marco De Leon, who is of Dominican and Brazilian descent, Rip Van Wafels puts a modern spin on the traditional Dutch stroopwafel. Its individually packaged wafels make an easy grab-and-go pantry addition, especially for employees looking for something sweet alongside their morning coffee or afternoon pick-me-up.

• Dutch Caramel & Vanilla Wafel: A classic caramel-and-vanilla combination inspired by the traditional stroopwafel.
• Snickerdoodle Wafel: A cinnamon-forward option that brings a familiar cookie flavor to the lineup.
• Honey & Oats Wafel: A lightly sweet option with honey and oat flavors that pairs naturally with coffee or tea.

How to Keep Your Celebrations Inclusive

Survey Your Team Members

Ahead of the celebrations, ask all of your team members what they’d like to see and what their availability is like. You can do this during an all-hands meeting or via email, or via an online survey. Being inclusive means making sure everyone has an opportunity to voice their opinions if they’d like to.

Spotlight Latino Employees

You’re celebrating your Hispanic and Latin American coworkers, so it makes sense to invite them to participate in the planning and events. Perhaps they’ll want to share a dish that’s been passed down in their family or play a traditional song from their native country. However, if they don’t feel up to it, they shouldn’t be pressured to partake.

Additionally, this is a great time to showcase the accomplishments of your Latinx team members and to highlight any DEI updates you may have in your company.

Continue to Learn

When it comes to DEI holidays, it’s common for leaders to feel nervous about saying the wrong thing or coming across as insensitive. Don’t let the fear of making a mistake stop you from celebrating HHM. Thankfully, so many answers can be found via a simple Google search. To help you, here are some reliable sources to learn more about Hispanic and Latino culture:

• HHM Briefing Book from The Hispanic Star
• National Hispanic Heritage Month government website
• HHM resources from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino

If you’re still unsure, just ask! Acknowledge that you don’t know much about a particular culture, express your desire to learn more about and celebrate it, and then ask your Latino team members for their feedback. This is also a fantastic opportunity to tap into your DEI team and Latinx ERGs (and if you don’t have either of those, it’s an ideal time to start one!). 

Conclusion

We know we got your mouth watering with the Latinx-owned food and beverage options for your office kitchen. Want to find more? Crafty's platform has My Products filtering that helps you easily support Latinx-, BIPOC-, women-owned, and other DEI office snack brands.