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Orocovis.- La Orocoveña Biscuit, established 55 years ago, will be expanding its operations to a neighboring building in the coming months. This expansion aims to boost the production of traditional sweets and facilitate their export to various cities across the United States.

The patently Puerto Rican company was created as a way to introduce new products to feed thousands of consumers. It has succeeded. Its product lineup includes galletas de casco, gingerbread cucas, mallorca (Puerto Rican sweet rolls), raisin bread, besitos de coco (coconut kisses), cakes, and pan mal cortao (bread with sweet filling), among others.

Currently, the company offers more than twenty pastry products that are shipped to Ohio, Massachusetts, New York, and Indiana, among other states, in addition to being available in over 1,500 retail outlets on the island.

However, demand abroad continues to grow, so its owners, Eliut Ortiz Maldonado and Catalina Rosario Suárez, acquired the neighboring building—which spans about 30,000 square feet—at $2 million. This investment also includes the purchase of new production equipment.

According to Operations Manager Marcelino Suárez Ortiz, “progress on the new facility is quite advanced, and I believe that the relocation will take place in the next few months.”

“We’re expanding because we’re currently in talks with a U.S.-based client who’s interested in purchasing three to four containers of galletas de casco every month. That’s why we’re investing in more machinery, expanding our space, and considering the implementation of a third shift,” disclosed the 45-year-old resident of Orocovis.

Suárez Ortiz mentioned that adding a third shift will require hiring around 30 employees, raising their workforce to approximately 110 workers.

“Right now, we have around 80 employees covering two shifts. These are full-time jobs, mostly filled by residents of the same town. But production is massive and continues to grow. We dispatch 15 trucks daily all over the island,” he highlighted.

He also clarified that most employees are aged 18 to 48, a significant portion of which are university students, women, and single mothers.

“We have many university students. We are currently operating from a 10,000 square foot facility. We purchased the factory next door so we could relocate; it has 30,000 square feet of space. We are growing. We expect to move in a couple of months, arrangements are already underway,” he emphasized.

It is important to note that La Orocoveña stands out as a wholly Puerto Rican enterprise. Ortiz Maldonado and Rosario Suárez purchased the factory in 2013 to bring new products and feed thousands of consumers.

Its product lineup is manufactured by Puerto Rican labor and includes galletas de casco, gingerbread cucas, mallorca, raisin bread, besitos de coco, cakes, and pan mal cortao, among others.

“We specialize in gingerbread cucas, mallorcas, raisin bread, besitos de coco, pan mal cortao, and cakes, whether they’re guava, cream-filled, carrot, guava-cheese, or vanilla cantinflas (mini cakes). We distribute across the island daily and reach more than 1,500 retail locations,” Suárez noted.

“The daily production volume is substantial and includes mallorcas, raisin bread, galletas de casco. The gingerbread cuca and the mallorca are number one, followed by the raisin bread. We also offer traditional sweets: ajonjolí (sesame seed candy), marrallo, coco-leche (milk coconut candy), coco-piña (pineapple coconut candy), coco-jengibre (ginger coconut candy), all made here,” he added.

Daily operations kick off at 4:00 a.m., when employees start to prepare the dough and warm up the machinery. The 5:00 a.m. shift then takes over to process the production, while others handle tray arrangement.

“Then, it goes to another area for rising, baking, cooling, and then it moves on to packaging before being sent to the warehouse. Tray placement is done manually, the cuca is also artisanal,” he explained while touring the production area, a space infused with the aroma of freshly baked sweets.

“It was a little challenging for us with (Hurricane) Fiona because of the lack of water and electricity. But we were back in business within three days, and sales actually increased,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Sales Manager Alexander Santos Oliveras shared their fundamental philosophy: “This factory provides jobs for many families in the central area and contributes to the economy in Orocovis.”

Additionally, they have a small shop near their factory, located just minutes from the downtown area. For more information, visit:www.laorocovena.com.