There is something magical about thinking that a piece patiently cured in our drying rooms in Villares de la Reina ends up presiding over a table in Tokyo, an exclusive event in Mexico City, or a gourmet restaurant in Bangkok. Exporting Iberian ham is not just a commercial transaction; it is, above all, an exercise in cultural translation.
To fully understand what it means to take our tradition beyond our borders, we sat down for a relaxed chat with Laura García, Partner and Export Director at Ibéricos Torreón. With her, we reviewed figures, challenges, amusing anecdotes, and that tireless passion for making the world understand the invaluable worth of our pasturelands.
Today, Ibéricos Torreón is present in more than 35 countries. What began as a search for new horizons has consolidated into a diverse and solid network that spans from the most traditional Europe to corners of America and Asia.
Markets such as China, Mexico, Canada, Colombia, Peru, and Serbia have shown extraordinary reception. However, not all countries consume or perceive Iberian products in the same way, and we will share some details as examples:
- Europe (with Italy leading the way): Experiences the product in a very similar way to the Spanish ritual. It values thin slices, shared moments around a table, and artisanal origin.
- America: Benefits from the impulse of the Hispanic community as a natural ambassador. From this emotional connection, the local consumer discovers Iberian ham as a distinctive experience, both in high-end restaurants and at home.
- Asia: Iberian ham has emerged as an authentic symbol of gastronomic luxury, linked to large corporate gifts and exclusive gourmet experiences.
"The most fascinating thing about exporting is seeing how Iberian ham manages to create an emotional connection in such different cultures. It becomes a universal gastronomic language that needs no translation," explains Laura García.
Japan, Tokyo, and the memory of the first faxes
If there is one country that holds a place of honor in Torreón's emotional memory, it is Japan. It was the second Spanish company to achieve homologation to export there in 2000, when the Japanese meat market was opening its doors for the first time.
For Laura García, that milestone transcended the corporate: it coincided exactly with her joining the company. Her first international trip was to Tokyo, accompanying her father with a suitcase full of excitement and the uncertainty of entering an unknown world.
In the early 2000s, technology was not what it is today. Orders from Tokyo arrived at the Villares de la Reina offices by fax. The current Export Director recalls how seeing those pages full of Japanese characters emerge was an almost poetic contrast to the artisanal tradition of the drying room. That pioneering effort opened a relationship of deep respect and mutual admiration that endures to this day.
From the hoof on the stand to the 50g sliced revolution
Opening up a market is not always easy. Laura García tells us with a smile how, in her first fairs in Asia (such as FOODEX Japan), they traveled "with what they had": the whole ham piece on the ham holder. At that time, buyers not only did not know how to cut it, but they would approach and touch the strange hoof to see what it was. Accustomed to homes with small spaces and daily purchases in small portions, an 8-kilogram leg was unattainable and incomprehensible.
"Something very similar happened to us when sushi arrived in Spain. We had to understand that we couldn't expect them to consume it like in Salamanca. Adapting led us to create 50-gram sachets with perfect slices. We invested in machinery, technology, and design. In the end, the demands of international markets taught us to perfect our own product," she explains.
Indeed, internationalization leaves unforgettable scenes. On the side of picturesque surprises, Laura García also remembers seeing Iberian ham put in a microwave in Chile, because they thought the marbling meant it was ‘underdone’! She also saw it served with spice in Thailand, with wasabi in Japan, or tasted ‘finely’ with a knife and fork in Italy, prosciutto-style.
However, education and the work of professional ham carvers have worked miracles. During a tasting in Bangkok, a visitor fearfully tried their first slice of acorn-fed ham. Noticing how it melted in their mouth, they remained silent for a few seconds, looked at the team, and exclaimed: "This is not ham, it's something else." They spent the rest of the day returning to the stand with different friends to see their reactions, becoming the best impromptu brand ambassador without speaking a single word of Spanish.
It's hard to explain this world... so much so that when Torreón's Export Director travels to commercial meetings or provides training to international sales teams, her luggage always includes photos, videos... and even an acorn in her pocket! This is because outside of Spain, there are three intertwined concepts that are difficult to convey if they haven't been experienced firsthand:
The Montanera: Explaining that the animal lives in absolute freedom and that acorns only fall during a very specific time of the year.
The Dehesa: Presenting a unique ecosystem in the world, the result of a balance between nature and human hand over centuries.
The Hand Slicing: Faced with the search for perfect industrial uniformity to which they are accustomed in other countries, defending the art of manual slicing as the ultimate expression of flavor.
Therefore, there is no doubt that behind the international glow are years of relentless administrative work. Markets such as Mexico (2005), China (2008), and Japan (2000) demanded complex homologations. Laura García proudly recalls meticulous inspections where international technicians used flashlights to check every last corner of the cutting rooms in Villares de la Reina. Passing these filters when very few companies succeeded was the greatest proof of Torreón's sanitary rigor and excellence.
Today, everything experienced is reflected in what has been achieved, international markets account for 35% of Ibéricos Torreón's total turnover, consolidating as a strategic pillar to balance demand and build a brand in the global gourmet segment.
And where is Torreón looking now? The team is already working on horizons as demanding as they are exciting: the United Arab Emirates, a key market for its luxury gastronomy but with complex cultural and regulatory adaptation; and various countries in Africa, where the development of the hotel and tourism sector opens promising opportunities for the premium sector.
For Torreón, exporting is not just sending a product in a container; it is sending a piece of our land, our climate, and the time we dedicate to each piece. In every corner of the world where someone enjoys a slice of our Iberian ham, the spirit of Salamanca is felt.