From a grocery store in Ciudad Real to selling hams in 45 countries
Nico Jamones has gone in six decades from being a humble business to being among the top ten ham producers in Spain. Its goal is to continue growing through purchases, but also organically.
Nico González Alonso, CEO of Nico Jamones, traces his company's origins to 1920 when his family moved from El Bodón in Salamanca to Herrera del Duque in Badajoz to clear agricultural land. They eventually settled in Luciana, Ciudad Real, where they established a store for imported goods, marking the birth of Nico Jamones. In 1965, Nicolás' father and his wife took over the business and added a butcher shop.
As their products gained popularity, they hung the ham on the beams of the main hall. Nicolás González Espadas, the current CEO, recalls how his father would distribute products on his Vespa to nearby towns.
The company's business model changed in the early nineties with the addition of Nicolás, a newly qualified pharmacist. They built a factory in Luciana with a natural drying process, using only salt and no additives. González Espadas emphasizes that their advantage lies in being "at the other end of the counter, facing the end consumer," prioritizing that their product "pleases a discerning consumer and establishes it."
Nico Jamones started attending international trade fairs in 1999, and their ham began to export beyond national borders. They have since expanded to 45 countries, contributing to 40% of their annual revenue, which is projected to reach 50 million euros this year. Their annual volume of business has doubled every seven years since the 1990s.
To meet market demand, Nico Jamones introduced sliced ham in 2010, building a second factory in Ciudad Real. They have also opened factories in Cantimpalos (Segovia) and Serón (Almería), the latter focused on exporting ham to the United States with specific requirements. The company, employing around a hundred people, continues to grow.
In 2024, they expanded their Luciana factory to increase the curing and maturing time of Iberian ham. The Ciudad Real headquarters underwent simultaneous improvements, with a further expansion planned for the next fiscal year, aiming to be fully operational by 2028. This factory produces 900,000 ham annually, equivalent to 9,000 tonnes, placing the company in the top 10 of its Spanish sector.
Their products are sold in most Spanish supermarkets (20% under the white label), their physical store in Luciana, their online store, and TikTok. With three generations now involved in management, Nicolás González Carrasco aims to grow the company in a sector experiencing concentration. González Espadas hints at the possibility of acquiring an external company as a strategy.
Written by urgent.news from Expansion ES's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
