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Real (Real Alimentos)

Real (Alimentos Real) is NIRSA's canned-sardine brand, produced in Guayaquil and at a dedicated plant in Posorja; Ecuador's own cannery registry lists the line as sardines and/or mackerel, since species can vary by catch.

At a glance

Notable facts

• NIRSA's very first production plant, built by founder Julio Aguirre Iglesias, was constructed specifically to process canned sardines.
• NIRSA later built a newer, dedicated tuna-and-sardine plant in Posorja, producing sardines in sunflower oil, soybean oil, and tomato sauce, in various sizes, for the local market under the Real brand.
• Ecuador's government cannery registry lists the Real sardine line as "sardinas y/o caballa" (sardines and/or mackerel) — the actual species in a given can may vary by catch/run, a caveat worth stating rather than presenting "sardine" as an absolute guarantee.
• NIRSA states it exports to more than 40 countries and describes the Real brand as having received a "Marketing Hall of Fame" recognition (year not specified on the source page).

Origin

Real is the canned-sardine brand of NIRSA (Negocios Industriales Real S.A.), founded in 1957 by Julio Aguirre Iglesias and Emilio Baquerizo Valenzuela. Sardines were, by the company's own account, where NIRSA began: its very first production plant was built specifically to process canned sardines, before the company grew into Ecuador's largest domestic-fleet seafood conglomerate with tuna as its larger modern business.

NIRSA later built a newer, dedicated tuna-and-sardine plant in Posorja, where the Real line is packed in sunflower oil, soybean oil, and tomato sauce for the Ecuadorian market. One honest wrinkle worth flagging: Ecuador's own cannery registry lists the line as "sardinas y/o caballa" — sardines and/or mackerel — meaning the species in a given can isn't fixed, but can vary with the catch.

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