Joseph Andrew Unanue (March 14, 1925 – June 12, 2013) was an American businessman and president of Goya Foods, the largest Hispanic–owned food company in the United States.
Early years
Unanue's father, Prudencio Unanue Ortiz, was born in Villasana de Mena, in the province of Burgos, in northern Spain. He emigrated to Puerto Rico, where he met a young Spanish girl by the name of Carolina Casal, whose parents also had immigrated to Puerto Rico from Galicia. They were married in the island in 1921 and soon after moved to New York City and settled in Brooklyn where Joseph was born.
Prudencio Unanue worked as a broker for Spanish companies doing business in the U.S. He soon realized that there was a need for Hispanic products in New York City, and in 1936 he founded Goya Foods, a food distributing company, in Manhattan.
Goya Foods
In 1946, after Unanue returned home, he enrolled in The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. He joined the family business, together with his brothers Tony and Frank Unanue. He learned every facet of the food industry. At first, the major supermarkets, such as A&P and Safeway were not interested in selling anything with the Hispanic demography in mind. Eventually, with the wave of Hispanic immigrants landing in the United States, the supermarket industry started to take notice. Goya Foods started to supply Safeway's Supermarket in Harlem and the rest soon followed. in 1956. Casal was an art collector and philanthropist. They had six children and 16 grandchildren. Joseph resided in Alpine, New Jersey with his wife Carmen Ana and continued to participate in civic and cultural activities.
In 2008, his son Andy was briefly a candidate for the Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey. He announced his candidacy on March 23, 2008, and filed petitions for the race on April 7, 2008. He dropped out of the race four days later and his committee on vacancies designated former Congressman Dick Zimmer to enter the race under the Unanue petitions.
He died of complications of pulmonary fibrosis in 2013.
Legacy
One of Unahue's distinctions was a knighthood in the Order of Malta. He was presented with the key to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. In 1991 he was presented with the National Hispanic Achievement Award, and was twice named the "Man of the Year" by the National Conference of Christians and Jews. The National Suppliers Association presented him with the Leadership Award.