Old El Paso
An internationally marketed brand of Tex-Mex-style meal kits, tacos, tortillas, sauces, seasonings, beans, rice and related foods owned by General Mills.
Last updated October 13, 2026
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Overview
Old El Paso is a packaged-food brand associated with Tex-Mex-style cooking and owned by the American food company General Mills. Its portfolio includes dinner kits, taco shells, tortillas, taco seasoning, sauces, condiments, rice, refried beans and other products intended to help consumers prepare Mexican-inspired meals at home. The brand is sold in the United States and Canada and has a substantial presence in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, including markets such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway and Finland. The brand's roots trace to the Mountain Pass Canning Company in New Mexico. In 1917, the company was acquired from a local owner in El Paso, Texas, and initially concentrated on canned tomatoes and pinto beans. Old El Paso was registered as a trademark in 1938. The business moved among several locations in the United States before settling in Texas in 1958. The name refers to El Paso, Texas, and to the historical period in which the region was associated with Mexico. Old El Paso became particularly important in the development of the American supermarket category for Mexican-style packaged food. In 1969, it became the first national brand described in the reference material as offering a complete line of Mexican meals in supermarkets, and it was also an early advertiser of Mexican cuisine in the United States. During the 1970s, supermarkets increasingly created dedicated Mexican-food sections, a development connected to the expansion of Old El Paso and comparable products. The brand also introduced a taco dinner internationally during that decade, helping familiarize consumers in markets where Mexican food was less established. Ownership changed several times. Pet, Inc. took over the brand in 1968. Pillsbury acquired Old El Paso in 1995, when Pillsbury's then-parent company, Grand Metropolitan, acquired Pet, Inc. Old El Paso subsequently became part of General Mills through the wider corporate history of Pillsbury. It remains a General Mills brand rather than an independent public company. The brand has extended beyond basic canned ingredients into convenient meal solutions. Its dinner kits generally combine components such as taco shells or tortillas with seasoning and related ingredients. Product development has also included whole-grain and reduced-sodium alternatives under the Smart Fiesta name, known as Healthy Fiesta in some regions. In the United States, Old El Paso introduced a frozen-entrees range in 2013 covering items such as burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas and fajitas. In 2019, it launched a shredded-cheese line in partnership with Crystal Farms Dairy Company. Old El Paso's marketing has emphasized accessibility, family meal preparation and playful presentation of Tex-Mex food. An Australian commercial from the mid-to-late 2000s popularized the Spanish phrase “¿Por qué no los dos?”, translated as “Why not both?” The line later circulated online as a meme, giving the brand a notable cultural footprint beyond conventional food advertising. The brand's current positioning combines mass-market convenience with a recognizable Tex-Mex identity, using meal kits and pantry staples to lower the practical barrier to preparing tacos, fajitas and related dishes at home.
History
Old El Paso developed from the Mountain Pass Canning Company, a New Mexico food business connected to El Paso, Texas. The company was acquired in 1917 and initially sold canned tomatoes and pinto beans. These products established a shelf-stable grocery foundation from which the business later developed a broader Mexican-style food identity. The Old El Paso name was registered as a trademark in 1938. The company relocated several times within the United States before settling in Texas in 1958. Its name combines a reference to El Paso with the idea of an earlier historical period, when the area was part of Mexico. Although the brand is commonly associated with Mexican cuisine, its commercial identity is more precisely Tex-Mex-style packaged food designed for mainstream retail distribution. A major turning point came in the late 1960s. Pet, Inc. acquired the brand in 1968, and in 1969 Old El Paso became the first national brand described in the available reference material as offering a complete line of Mexican meals in supermarkets. It also advertised Mexican cuisine nationally in the United States. This activity helped make tacos, tortillas and related foods more familiar to American supermarket shoppers. During the 1970s, supermarkets began establishing Mexican-food sections, with Old El Paso among the brands contributing to the category's development. The company also introduced a taco dinner internationally, taking a meal format associated with Mexican food into markets where consumers had comparatively little prior exposure. Corporate ownership changed again in 1995, when Pillsbury acquired Old El Paso as part of Grand Metropolitan's purchase of Pet, Inc. Through the subsequent corporate history of Pillsbury, the brand became part of General Mills. General Mills continues to own and market Old El Paso as an international packaged-food brand. The product range expanded from canned vegetables and beans into convenient meal systems. Dinner kits became a central format, combining elements such as taco shells or tortillas with seasonings and other components. The portfolio also developed around standalone pantry products, including salsa, sauces, condiments, rice, refried beans and tortillas. In 2010, the brand launched the Smart Fiesta line, called Healthy Fiesta in some markets, with products intended to offer healthier alternatives to traditional dinner kits. Examples included whole-grain shells and tortillas and reduced-sodium seasoning. Old El Paso later entered frozen prepared meals in the United States. The 2013 frozen-entrees range included burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas and fajitas, with chicken, ground beef and steak options identified in the reference material. In 2019, the brand expanded into shredded cheese through a partnership with Crystal Farms Dairy Company. Marketing has been an important part of Old El Paso's international growth. A commercial broadcast mainly in Australia during the mid-to-late 2000s featured a child asking “¿Por qué no los dos?” The phrase, meaning “Why not both?”, became an Internet meme after clips from the advertisement circulated online. This campaign illustrates the brand's use of humor and family-oriented communication to make Tex-Mex meal preparation approachable. Old El Paso is currently distributed across a wide range of countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway and Finland. Its business remains centered on accessible, branded Tex-Mex-style foods sold through mainstream grocery channels.
- 2019
Shredded-cheese range
[1]Old El Paso introduced shredded cheese in partnership with Crystal Farms Dairy Company.
- 2013
United States frozen-entrees range
[1]The brand introduced frozen burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas and fajitas in the United States.
- 2010
Smart Fiesta line
[1]Old El Paso launched Smart Fiesta, also called Healthy Fiesta in some regions, with whole-grain and reduced-sodium alternatives.
- 1995
Pillsbury acquisition
[1]Pillsbury acquired Old El Paso through Grand Metropolitan's purchase of Pet, Inc.
- 1970
International taco dinner introduction
[1]During the 1970s, Old El Paso introduced a taco dinner internationally, supporting the spread of Mexican-style meal formats in unfamiliar markets.
- 1969
National Mexican-meal range
[1]Old El Paso became the first national brand described in the reference material as offering a full line of Mexican meals in supermarkets and advertising Mexican cuisine nationally in the United States.
- 1968
Pet, Inc. takes over the brand
[1]Pet, Inc. acquired Old El Paso.
- 1958
Business settles in Texas
[1]After several relocations around the United States, the business settled in Texas.
- 1938
Old El Paso trademark registration
[1]The Old El Paso name was registered as a trademark.
- 1917
Mountain Pass Canning Company acquisition
[1]The Mountain Pass Canning Company was acquired from a local owner in El Paso, Texas, establishing the early corporate roots of the brand.
Products and positioning
Mass-market, convenient and family-oriented Tex-Mex meal solutions and pantry foods.
Meal kits
Old El Paso Dinner Kits
The brand's core meal-kit format packages components for preparing Tex-Mex-style meals at home. Depending on the product, kits may include taco shells or tortillas, seasoning and other meal ingredients. They are designed to provide a simple, standardized route to tacos, fajitas and related dishes without requiring consumers to source every component separately.
Taco shells and tortillas
Old El Paso Tacos and Tortillas
Old El Paso sells hard taco shells and soft tortillas as both kit components and standalone products. These items form the structural basis for tacos, fajitas, wraps and other Mexican-inspired meals, and are distributed through the brand's grocery-market network.
Seasonings
Old El Paso Seasonings
The seasoning range includes taco and fajita preparations intended to provide a consistent flavor profile for home-cooked Tex-Mex dishes. The Smart Fiesta or Healthy Fiesta program included reduced-sodium seasoning options in some markets.
Sauces and condiments
Old El Paso Sauces and Salsas
Sauces, salsas and related condiments extend the brand beyond meal kits and provide toppings or cooking ingredients for tacos, fajitas and other dishes. They are part of the brand's broader shelf-stable Tex-Mex grocery portfolio.
Better-positioned meal products · 2010
Smart Fiesta / Healthy Fiesta
Introduced in 2010, this line offered alternatives to traditional dinner-kit products. The cited examples include whole-grain hard and soft taco formats and reduced-sodium taco and fajita seasonings. The name varies by region, with Healthy Fiesta used in some markets.
Frozen prepared foods · 2013
Old El Paso Frozen Entrees
Introduced in the United States in 2013, the frozen range included ready-made burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas and fajitas. The cited varieties included chicken, ground beef and steak. The reference material does not identify vegan or vegetarian options for this range.
Cheese · 2019
Old El Paso Shredded Cheese
The shredded-cheese line, introduced in 2019 through a partnership with Crystal Farms Dairy Company, broadened Old El Paso's meal-supporting products into a refrigerated dairy category.
Marketing campaigns
- 2007¿Por qué no los dos?
Australia
An Old El Paso commercial aired primarily in Australia during the mid-to-late 2000s and featured a young girl asking in Spanish, “¿Por qué no los dos?” The humorous line promoted choosing both available options and was later widely reused online, becoming an Internet meme and giving the brand a durable pop-culture association.
Outcome. The phrase became an Internet meme and gave the brand a durable pop-culture association.
Brand decisions
2019
Shredded-cheese partnershipProduct launchBackground
Cheese is a common accompaniment to tacos and other Tex-Mex meals, creating an opportunity to extend the brand's meal ecosystem.
Action taken
Old El Paso launched a shredded-cheese line in partnership with Crystal Farms Dairy Company.
Aftermath
The move added a dairy product to the brand portfolio. The available material does not specify the range's later distribution or financial results.
2013
Entry into frozen prepared entreesProduct launchBackground
Old El Paso expanded from shelf-stable meal kits and ingredients into prepared frozen Mexican-style foods.
Action taken
The brand introduced United States frozen entrees consisting of burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas and fajitas in selected meat varieties.
Aftermath
The frozen range broadened the brand's convenience-food offer; no subsequent financial performance is provided in the reference material.
2010
Launch of Smart Fiesta health-oriented alternativesProduct launchBackground
The brand sought to offer alternatives to its traditional dinner kits in a market increasingly attentive to whole grains and sodium levels.
Action taken
Old El Paso introduced Smart Fiesta products, called Healthy Fiesta in some regions, including whole-grain shells and tortillas and reduced-sodium seasonings.
Aftermath
The line extended the brand's portfolio beyond conventional meal-kit formulations, although the reference material does not provide sales or financial results.
Recent events
- 2019
Old El Paso launches shredded cheese with Crystal Farms[1]
Product launch
Old El Paso introduced a shredded-cheese range through a partnership with Crystal Farms Dairy Company.
- 2013
Old El Paso introduces frozen entrees in the United States[1]
Product launch · Product generation
A United States-only frozen range was introduced with burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas and fajitas in chicken, ground-beef and steak variants.
- 2010
Old El Paso launches Smart Fiesta and regional Healthy Fiesta products[1]
Product launch
The brand introduced alternatives positioned around healthier preparation, including whole-grain taco shells and tortillas and reduced-sodium fajita and taco seasonings.
- 1995
Pillsbury acquires Old El Paso through the Pet, Inc. transaction[1]
M&A
Pillsbury acquired Old El Paso when its parent company, Grand Metropolitan, bought Pet, Inc.
- 1969
Old El Paso expands its Mexican-style meal range in supermarkets[1]
Campaign
The brand was described as the first national brand to offer a full line of Mexican meals in American supermarkets and to advertise Mexican cuisine nationally.
- 1968
Old El Paso becomes part of the Pet, Inc. portfolio[1]
M&A
Pet, Inc. took over the Old El Paso brand as part of the ownership history that later led to its acquisition by Pillsbury and eventual inclusion in General Mills.
Sources3 sources
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