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Oct 16, 2024

How Tajín, Mexico's Spicy-Tart Seasoning, Became Popular in the US

Tajín, a zesty Mexican seasoning made of dried chiles, dehydrated lime and sea salt, is a culinary Swiss Army knife. Invented in 1985 in Jalisco, Mexico, Tajín is often enjoyed sprinkled on fruits,

Tajín, a zesty Mexican seasoning made of dried chiles, dehydrated lime and sea salt, is a culinary Swiss Army knife.

Invented in 1985 in Jalisco, Mexico, Tajín is often enjoyed sprinkled on fruits, like mango and watermelon, candies and savory dishes including elote (Mexican corn on the cob) and meat marinades.

Tajín made its way to the U.S. in 1993, and now it’s in more than 65 countries, a company representative confirms to TODAY.com. It’s become a staple at bars as well, where bar tenders use it to season craft cocktails like mangonadas and add a zesty punch to margarita and michelada rims.

It’s since earned the public support of celebrities including Megan Thee Stallion, who name-drops it in “Don’t Stop,” Mexican singer Thalia, Kim Kardashian and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Jaida Essence Hall, who likes to eat it plain before performances.

The company has teamed up with other brands for various Tajín-flavored products (chicharrones, frozen fruit bars, mayonnaise, beer, hummus and beef jerky), and chains including Taco Bell and 7-Eleven have offered a sprinkle of the seasoning on past menus.

According to Tajín, its product is the top-selling chili-lime seasoning in both Mexico and the U.S. — and in the past year, more than 60 million bottles of Tajín Clásico Seasoning were sold around the globe.

Here’s how the company has taken the world’s taste buds by storm.

Horacio Fernandez started the Industrias Tajín company in Jalisco as he sold his seasoning out of a truck. It remains a family-run business today, a representative says.

As the story goes, Fernandez was nostalgic for the flavors of his grandmother Mama Necha’s sauce recipe. According to the brand, he set out to recreate it and, while experimenting, realized he could dehydrate its key ingredients to make a seasoning.

The company claims there wasn’t a similar product on the market at the time.

Fernandez named his creation while visiting ancient archaeological site El Tajín because it had ají (which translates to chili) in the name, according to the company.

After opening up business operations in Texas and California under the Tajín International Corporation name, and partnering with a distributor, the U.S.-based company now has more than 150 employees. (The factory remains in Mexico.)

In 2022, the company opened a new manufacturing plant on nearly 20 acres in Tala, Jalisco that can process up to 5.3 million pounds of product per month. Its Center for Research and Field Experimentation also aids local chili pepper farmers and producers in the state.

Tajín says its early association with fruit and veggies allowed it to be placed in the produce section at many grocers, unlike other seasonings. And while it still holds onto that initial use, the product has evolved over the years.

In addition to Tajín Clasico, the company sells a sweeter version called Tajín Twist, the spicier Tajín Habanero Seasoning, and a pair of sauces — Tajín Mild Hot Sauce and Tajín Fruity Chamoy Sauce.

A blend of seven different chiles are included in Tajín now — the blend varies depending on the product — and it’s sold in more than 40,000 stores in the U.S.

Chefs, home cooks and historians alike have a special love for Tajín.

“I just have it around in my house because I eat it a lot with fruit, with cucumbers, with jicama, you know, classic,” Mexican American chef Ana Castro tells TODAY.com.

She remembers back to when it was a pivotal pantry staple for her.

“I was always at work so my fridge was barely stocked,” Castro says about her time as a line cook in New York. “The restaurant was closed on Sunday, so if there was any tuna leftover, the chef would always be like, ‘I’ll let you just take it, because we’re not gonna use it on Monday.’”

Castro would combine Kewpie mayo and Tajín, add a squeeze of lime juice, mix that into the sliced tuna and then eat it with tortilla chips.

“That’s why I love Tajín so much, because of citric acid, because of the texture, because of the amount of salt — it’s just a really well-balanced condiment,” she says, adding that her restaurant Acamaya makes a sweet potato dish with the same flavor profile.

Emily Key is the assistant director of learning and public engagement for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino. She tells TODAY.com that K—12 students who are part of the “The Science Behind the Spices” program learn about a variety of seasonings used around the world including Tajín.

“Food is a really great way to talk about history,” she says, adding that certain spices are deeply connected to memory.

Key, who spent her adolescence in Mexico City, says cups of Tajín-seasoned mango slices helped adjust her to new surroundings and, now, connect her to that time in her life.

“I go back annually, and that’s the first thing I eat because it’s a memory of me with my grandmother,” she says. “It’s also a memory of connection; it makes me feel grounded.”

Castro remembers Tajín’s .35-ounce bottles were a big part of her school days.

“I grew up with that stuff, Tajín as a memory of my childhood, as my part of my lunchbox,” Castro says. “My grandmother would send fruit with Tajín.”

That’s actually exactly how it was intended to be used at the time. The company says its early strategy was to win over moms who wanted their kids to eat fruits and vegetables. If TikTok is any indication, there are plenty of kids all over the world with refined palates that dig the stuff these days.

“It’s our gift to the world, amongst many others,” Castro says.

“Heat is really one of the foundational elements of Mexican cuisine,” Rick Martinez, Mexican American writer and James Beard Award-winning cookbook author tells TODAY.com.

He adds that folks in Mexico have been eating chiles since before European colonization. In fact, archaeologists found 2,000-year-old pottery vessels with chile pepper residue in Chiapas, Mexico.

“People were eating and then later cultivating and growing and grinding — eating fresh, eating dried, eating smoked chilies,” Martinez says. “It’s probably in very nearly every dish in Mexico, including desserts and snacks and candies for that matter.”

Martinez, who is set to release his next cookbook, “Salsa Daddy,” in 2025, says the tartness found in lime is a large part of Mexican cuisine, too. “There’s a very strong affinity in this country for that bright, fresh, tart finish,” he says.

“There are places in the Yucatan that are pure citrus markets,” he adds, noting that even he finds produce there he’s never seen before. “It’s probably impossible to find a restaurant or taco stand that doesn’t have a bowl of freshly cut limes for you to squeeze on your food.”

Martinez says Tajín is “a great way to instantly add flavor to any dish,” including grilled meats and fish.

Tajín has reached South Africa, a kindergarten class in South Korea, and beyond.

Martinez says it’s a good sign for Tajín that while brands like Trader Joe’s have come out with their own versions, people largely still seem to opt for the original.

“I think that speaks to the American desire to have some sort of stamp of authenticity in products,” he says.

At the Smithsonian, Key says they are using the seasoning to teach students about Mexican culture while exploring the chemistry behind the Latin food.

“It comes full circle from the science to the culture, back to the everyday ways in which you find these spices,” she says.

“Tajín started in a family kitchen, and I think you can’t forget that core part of the story,” Key adds. “I think right now, when we think about bringing people together from different walks of life, different backgrounds, food is a great way to do that.”

No matter the science, nostalgia or the business of Tajín, one thing is true: it’s a point of pride.

“Like, Tajín is Mexico, you know?” Castro says definitively. “To me, it’s just like so f---ing Mexican.”

Washington, D.C. native Joseph Lamour is a lover of food: its past, its present and the science behind it. With food, you can bring opposites together to form a truly marvelous combination, and he strives to take that sentiment to heart in all that he does.