The origin of the Solís tomato: almond milk and the ingenuity of a pharmacist

On Thursday, April 27, 1961, The Vanguard The newspaper published an advertisement that would catch the eye of most readers today. It was on page 22. In the center was a drawing of a container of almond milk. "The powerful, easily digestible food!" exclaimed a striking text. "Delicious, refreshing, pure, and full of vitamins," added a more understated paragraph. On the label of the container, prominently displayed at the bottom of the ad, was the element that would have thrown the modern reader off: the almond milk was sold by Solís. Today, the brand is known for its sauces, and especially for its fried tomato sauce, which floods the shelves of this product in Catalan supermarkets. Although Solís hasn't sold almond milk for many years, the brand's origins are linked to this product and the ingenuity of a pharmacist.

It was Juan Antonio Solís Cuéllar, a Valencian pharmacist born in Utiel in 1917, who settled in Barcelona after the Spanish Civil War. In the late 1940s, he acquired the company Productes Dietètics Llor, located at number 264 on Dos de Maig Street in Barcelona. This company primarily manufactured two beverages that were quite popular at the time: Nuxina plant-based milk and Prodicao sweetened cocoa. When Solís took over the company, he focused his efforts on almond milk. He reformulated it using his pharmaceutical knowledge and renamed it Solís. Over time, this seemingly modest undertaking became the starting point for one of the most recognizable brands in Spanish food history.

From the pharmacy to the kitchen

In the early 1960s, Juan Antonio Solís decided to broaden his horizons. In 1961, he moved his small factory from Dos de Maig Street to Padilla Street in the Eixample district. There, in addition to continuing to produce his almond milk, he began experimenting with new recipes and formats. As a result of these trials, in 1962 he launched Solís mayonnaise, an innovative product that triumphed thanks to a successful television advertising campaign. Two years later, in 1964, he surprised the market again with a product that marked a turning point in Spanish households: the first packaged fried tomato sauce. In a country that was beginning to discover the convenience of ready-made meals, this jar was a true revolution: Solís became a household name in pantries across much of Spain.

The product's success fueled rapid business growth. In 1969, Juan Antonio Solís founded a new company, Solís, Industrias de Alimentación, SA, with the support of the American group Carnation Company, which acquired 80% of the capital. This step marked the beginning of a new era: the company transitioned from a small-scale operation to become a major player in the Spanish food industry.

In 1973, the group acquired the Asturian factory Litoral, specializing in ready meals, and two years later opened a new plant in Miajadas, in the province of Cáceres. There, in the heart of Extremadura, Solís began large-scale production of its fried tomato sauce. The plant is still operational today and is Nestlé's main sauce production center in Spain. It was in the mid-1980s that Solís's story intersected with that of the Swiss giant Nestlé. In 1985, the group acquired Carnation Company, and with it all its subsidiaries, including Solís. Shortly afterward, Juan Antonio Solís sold his shares and retired from the company. He spent his final years in Sitges, where he died in 1999, having witnessed his name become synonymous with fried tomato sauce throughout Spain.

With its new ownership, the brand gained industrial strength and international reach. The Miajadas factory consolidated its position as the nerve center for fried tomato production and added new product lines, such as Buitoni sauces. Currently, the plant occupies 175,000 square meters, employs approximately one hundred people directly or indirectly, and produces around 30,000 tons of tomato sauce annually. The packaging lines can fill up to 400 glass jars per minute. Nearly 40% of production is exported to some thirty countries worldwide.