The business news headlines across Latin America tend to focus on industries like telecom, energy, banking and the automotive sector. Often ignored by the media, the food industry continues to quietly grow and prosper, year after year. The snack food segment, in particular, has enjoyed nothing less than spectacular growth over the past five years. Companies in this segment have prospered even in the face of devaluations and recessions in all of the region's major markets over this period

Global players like Nabisco, Frito-lay, and PepsiCo all report that Latin America is the fastest growing region in their global empires. Growth is driven by societal changes that stimulate demand, combined with more aggressive supply channels that offer consumers a broader range of choices. In the final analysis, most snack food items are unplanned impulse purchases. As Roger Enrico of PepsiCo notes: "…With more variety, more people will consume the product. You put more merchandise in to get more sales out."