La India Packing Company is a family owned and operated supplier of herbs, spices, and Mexican chocolate. The company has served as an integral part of Laredo’s Hispanic community while offering buyers the unique flavors of Mexican and south Texas cuisine. In 1924, Mexico natives and husband and wife Antonio and Antonia Rodriguez opened La India Packing Company in Laredo out of their family home. Aimed at preserving Mexican cuisine and supplying the city’s growing Hispanic population brought on by the Mexican Revolution, Antonio began selling Mexican chocolate, medicinal herbs, spices, and kitchen staples. As business grew, the family purchased a small frame home on Marcella Avenue to serve as a storefront. A brick building was later added to provide additional space to accommodate their growing product line of spice blends that produced traditional Mexican dishes in a fraction of the time. In the 1990s, La India Packing Company was sold to daughter-in-law Maria Guadalupe (Caudillo) de Rodriguez (1932-2008). Under continuing family management, the company updated their logo, developed additional spice blends, published a bilingual book on traditional herbs, and expanded their product line to include flavors from diverse cultures. In 2000, the company expanded once again to include a cafe. In 2005, La India Packing Company was recognized as a Southwest Certified National Minority Supplier. The company’s products are available in stores throughout south Texas with international shipping available. La India Packing Company has preserved Hispanic culture and introduced traditional Mexican and south Texas cuisine to audiences worldwide. (2023)