On a cold and rainy morning Wednesday, Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro applauded Iidea Company founder and president Alvaro Cheto on a one-billion-peso (almost $US50 millon) investment in stainless steel tanks at the 45-hectare Almer warehouse facility in Guadalajara’s Industrial zone.
Started in 1996 to take advantage of an overabundance of agave, Iidea began producing agave syrup, which is now used in dozens of food and cosmetic products in 52 countries.
The increased liquid holding facility will allow the company’s Tequila Don Ramon—the second largest tequila producer in the state—to increase its storage capacity by 30 million liters to 90 million liters, making it the largest tequila storage facility in the state. The project commenced four years ago and is slated to be finished in 2024.
Iidea employs around 1,200 people in Jalisco, and has facilities in California, Texas, Hamburg, Germany, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The tequila industry grew by 41 percent in 2021, and so far this year has increased 18 percent over last year. Alfaro noted that Jalisco is no longer experiencing a crisis in the over-production of agave due to this growth. Also, technical advances in production have reduced the kilos of agave to liter of tequila ratio from 14 to 6.7, making the beverage more profitable.
Iidea Vice President Jonathan Gomez Almaraz noted that in 2021 consumption of tequila and mezcal passed whiskey in the United States, and sales of the two agave-based liquors should outpace vodka in 2023. Sales are also growing in other markets, including Great Britain and Japan.
“Lifting a glass of tequila lifts up Mexico,” he said.