The TOMA brand is gathering undeniable momentum.
Inspired by one young chef’s passion for Latin cooking and one of television’s brightest stars, the brand is creating premium empanadas and other authentic offerings. Plus, the backing of legendary hospitality executive Sam Nazarian gives the roughly 1-year-old brand – which has launched in both retail and foodservice – a bright future.
TOMA taps into the heritage of Chief Concept Officer Manolo Gonzalez Vergara and his mother, beloved entertainer Sofia Vergara. TOMA harmonizes flavors from Latin America with high-quality ingredients. The result is a specially curated selection of Latin American recipes, including beef empanadas filled with savory beef, sweet tomatoes, and kalamata olives, and chicken empanadas made with tomatillo, jalapeno, and a garlic salsa verde.
“There’s so many delicious flavors across the entire continent, so many delicious cuisines,” Manolo said recently, speaking at the 2025 National Restaurant Association Show. He recalled that TOMA’s leadership decided “let’s just cherry pick the best of everything.”
“This is our love letter to Latin food,” Sofia said of TOMA, in a statement.
The Miami-based brand taps into not just global flavors but of the popularity of handheld food, too. Many consumers in the U.S. and the world over have come to appreciate portable, handheld items. Handheld food works well at all types of restaurants – from full service to coffee shops – as well as for those seeking a quick meal at home.
TOMA ultimately made empanadas the brand’s calling card because, Manolo explained: “We wanted something that was accessible and easy, for people to eat on the go.
“Latin food takes a long time; to be honest, from scratch it’s a pain,” he added. “We wanted to do this quick, so you could get the [authentic] feeling on the go.”
Manolo hopes that the brand’s authentic products expand people’s expectations of Latin cuisine. TOMA was created to be more than a culinary brand –rather, it’s an experience.
“We want to be,” Manolo stated, “a delicious facsimile of the foods you would have if you were back in Cuba, Colombia, Argentina, or what have you. We also want to show the variety of Latin cuisine. … We wanted to make something that’s accessible to everyone.”
So far, the young brand is thriving, following its recent retail partnership with Walmart.
“It’s insane,” Manolo said of TOMA’s success. “But I’m very grateful.”
