How Delimex Created a Complementary Product to Its Frozen Tacos

Delimex recently introduced the Delimex Taquito platter custom mold, which allows hosts to serve two dozen taquitos and six dips together on one beautiful tray. The platter features one-of-a-kind artwork from Mexican artist and muralist Alejandra Ballesteros and is available on Amazon  for US $10.99 just in time for the holiday entertainment season.

By introducing the Delimex Taquito Platter custom mold, Delimex has created a complementary product to its flagship frozen tacos and taquitos. Lauren Nowak, Brand Manager, Delimex tells Portada that the “plate is designed as a perfect vehicle for serving Delimex Taquitos and encourages consumers to purchase them to use together. Those who purchase the platter will also receive a coupon for free Delimex Taquitos.”  A complementary product is an item that is bought together with the main product. These products are used in conjunction, so complementary goods often bring little value or can’t be used separately. While it is likely that another taco brand can be used on the Delimex Taquito platter, there is an even stronger complementarity with the Delimex tacos and taquitos specifically. To some extent, with the Taquito platter initiative Delimex has replicated complementary products in other industries like razors and blades, flour and baking powder or laundry detergents, and fabric softeners.

Mexican Culture Appeal

The Delimex Taquito platter initiative leverages the wide appeal of Mexican culture (check out a similar example for Diageo’s global campaign). Mexican artist and muralist Alejandra Ballesteros drew inspiration for the platter’s design from the vibrancy and colors of Mexican street style. The platter is adorned with cempasuchil flowers, chickens and roosters. The flowers’ vibrant colors and unique aroma serve as a reminder of Mexico’s rich cultural heritage, much like the chickens and roosters that hold significant importance across Mexican food, symbolism, art, entertainment, and traditions. Similarly, the box takes inspiration from Mexican Talavera, known for its intricate hand-painted ceramic designs featuring vibrant motifs.

According to Nowak, “Millenials who are looking to spice up their everyday meals without throwing off the balance of their daily routines, and still pleasing everyone at their table,” are the main target audience for Delimex. The taquito platter is the latest work coming out of the brand after its July 2022 refresh – the brand’s first refresh in nearly forty years. In July 2022, Delimex underwent a brand renovation with refreshed packaging, enhanced flavor, and nearly double the taquito filling. Since then, the brand has been bringing bold, delicious flavor and excitement to fans’ daily routines, with various marketing campaigns and tactics including a series of murals designed by Alejandra Ballesteros (the same artist behind the plate) and Raul Urias in honor of the brand refresh, the Delimex x JAJA Taquito-rita, which was introduced to consumers this past summer, in July 2023, the recent Delimex Street Views campaign, and more. “Through this latest launch of the Delimex Taquito Platter, we’re continuing to encourage fans to seek out and celebrate the everyday moments that bring them joy, and our new platter offers a solution to a real problem in a vibrant, first-of-its-kind way,” says Nowak.

Delimex Marketing: 360 Campaigns…

For both consumer awareness and sales conversion, Nowak tells Portada that Delimex creates “360 campaigns that reach consumers wherever they are, as we know their shopping journeys are not linear.” Channels used include video, social media, custom partnerships, audio, in-store, search, and PR.

Since Delimex’s brand refresh in 2022, Delimex has worked with GUT, Alison Brod Marketing + Communications, Publicis 57 and The Kitchen [Kraft Heinz’s in-house creative agency].

…and Gamer Targeted

Earlier this year, Delimex reached out to a specific audience within the millennial target; gamers. So, it advertised itself at food spots like taco trucks at the year’s biggest video game launches, feeding gamers free kills and literal taquitos as fuel in-game and in real life.
According to an award entry at The One Club, “Despite being the perfect food to fuel hardcore gaming sessions, Delimex taquitos weren’t on gamers’ radars. We knew gamers would reject the brand if we didn’t introduce our product authentically. So, how do you tell gamers about your product when they never look away from their screens? You slip into their favorite games, engaging with them in a way only gamers understand. Our insight stems from a common gamer term: FEEDING, the act of dying repeatedly, serving the enemy team easy wins. We flipped the frustrations players feel when their team is feeding on its head, using gamers’ own lingo to create an unexpected in-game activation. Without an official partnership, over three days, our Delimex team snuck into the year’s biggest games to feed gamers free points and taquitos to help them level up faster in-game and stay fed and focused outside of it. With a $60K budget, we played, not paid our way into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Warzone 2.0, and Overwatch 2. Choosing the Mexican special forces character, we wore custom skins in the Delimex colors, and named our characters Delimex and Taquito. We hung out in the Mexican levels, at in-game food spots like taco trucks, and kitchens, repeatedly sacrificing ourselves to players. Then we sent them free taquito coupons so they could feed on Delimex in real life. Top Twitch streamers joined the feast, showing players where to find us in-game. Gamers loved it, cheering us on in chat. Then they ran with our idea, showing us how they fed on the enemy themselves, posting their clips to Reddit and Discord, gaming’s biggest communities. We not only enhanced the gaming experience for players but innovated a new way to get samples into their hands. We proved that victory tastes like taquitos.”