It is hard to find much in common between Mexican cuisine and Chinese cooking, especially given the vast geographical distance between the two countries.

But there are similarities, if one digs deep enough. Both use thin pancakes as wraps for different fillings, for example. And this is precisely what makes world leading tortilla maker Mission Foods confident about its expansion in China.

"Chinese people don't know tortillas, but they use thin pancakes to wrap Peking duck. So we are not introducing something too strange here," says Jonathan Ley, sales manager for Mission Foods' Asian division.

The company that produces over one-quarter of all the tortillas consumed throughout the world plans to open a factory in Shanghai in September. With a total investment of US$17 million, the facility will be Mission Foods' only production base in Asia. It will produce tortillas, corn tortilla chips and salsa not only to China, but to other Asian countries as well.

The popularity of the tortilla among North Americans has risen faster than any other bread product over the past decade. Once considered a novelty item, tortillas have become the second most popular bread type in the United States after white bread, partly due to American demand for faster, healthier food, and their constant quest for new tastes. The thin pancakes are also growing quickly in other markets such as Europe and Japan.

Ley hopes to see the same progress in China.

"We chose China to build our first factory in Asia, partly due to the low labour costs here. But costs are low in many other Asian countries as well," Ley says.

"We think China has the largest market potential in Asia."

The growing number of foreign expatriates living in China will obviously jump at the chance to enjoy a good burrito now and then. But more importantly, young Chinese consumers are becoming more and more adventurous in their eating habits, as mainland cities become increasingly cosmopolitan.

Selling Mexican food to Chinese people will not be an easy task, however. Tacos and burritos are all but alien to Chinese palates. Although mainlanders have been eating rice for thousands of years, Mexican rice with its savoury mix of herbs and spices could turn off a lot of Chinese consumers.

Chinese red and green beans are also usually served as desserts, rather than being fried, mixed with beef and wrapped with cheese and vegetables.

This is why Mission Foods has changed the original tortilla recipe, in order to directly appeal to Chinese preferences. Ley says Mission Foods has hired two full-time cooks, one from Mexico and the other from China, to develop new recipes.

"We already have more than 1,000 recipes that use Mission Foods products, which is extremely helpful for us as we introduce our products to consumers," Ley says.

"But now we will develop new recipes just for the Chinese market."

He hopes the two cooks, by working together, will find ways to combine tortillas with Chinese cuisine.

Mission Foods' tortilla products are distributed in supermarkets and restaurants in other mature markets. But Ley says due to the low awareness of "Tex-Mex" food in China, his company will first focus on serving bars and restaurants across the mainland.

Unlike their European and US counterparts, where tortilla chips are a common menu item, bars in China usually only serve peanuts, popcorn and potato chips.

"We have done a little survey among Chinese bars. Many of them like our products very much, but the problem is nobody produces and sells tortilla chips and salsa in China," Ley says.

Imported tortilla chips can be found in some expat-oriented supermarkets in Beijing, such as Jenny Lou's and Lion Mart. But these products are generally too expensive for Chinese bars.

There are several Mexican restaurants in large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, but most of them make their tortillas by themselves.

"We always use our homemade tortillas. Imported packaged tortillas are expensive and not very fresh," says a waitress at Nina, a famous Mexican restaurant in Beijing.

KFC and Taco Bell are currently Mission Foods' major customers in China.

KFC unveiled its "Old Beijing Twister" a few years ago. It is a wrap modelled on the way Peking duck is served, but with a fried chicken stuffing, spring onions and sweet sauce. The fast food giant has also successfully introduced its "Mexican Chicken Wrap" to Chinese consumers.

Taco Bell, another company under Yum! Brand Inc, came to China in 2003. The popular California-based Mexican fast food chain has two outlets in Shanghai and one in Shenzhen.

For most North Americans, Taco Bell is just another fast food restaurant serving low-grade, albeit rather tasty, food. But in China, Taco Bell is a full-service, sit-down restaurant with beautifully detailed, bilingual menus and colourful Hispanic dcor, including the iconic Mexican sombreros worn by the staff.

From the crunch of a corn chip to the ooze of melted cheese, this novel food may have laid the groundwork for the introduction of Tex-Mex food to China.

Mission Foods, founded in 1949, has 28 factories around the world. The United States, the company's largest market, has the most factories. The rest are located in Europe and Australia.

Sales of tortillas in the United States stood at US$6 billion in 2004, double from a decade ago, according to an annual study by the Tortilla Industry Association.

Mission Foods is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mexican company Gruma Corp. Gruma has two principal tortilla and related product brands Mission and Guerrero. The company also produces more than 20 varieties of corn flour under the Maseca brand.

(China Daily 07/10/2006 page1)