With more than three decades of history, the company Ñaming—founded in Bilbao and consolidated in Mallén (Zaragoza)—has become a national leader in the production of sandwiches and fresh ready-to-eat products. In this interview, its CEO, Jorge Miranda, reviews the family origins of the business, its expansion, the daily logistical challenges of a company that distributes fresh products throughout Spain, and his vision for the future of food and entrepreneurship. Miranda highlights food safety as one of the keys to Ñaming’s success—it is the only company in Spain with two workshops certified by IFS, the most demanding food certification worldwide—along with a committed team, logistics, and technology. Ñaming has developed its own algorithms to manage procurement and production in real time. On Thursday, November 13, the CEO of this company will participate in one of the sessions of Aragón Business SUMMIT2025, the business event organized by the Aragonese Institute of Development (IAF).
How and when was Ñaming born?
Ñaming emerged in 2000 as an evolution of the family business Gastrolunch, which my family had founded in 1990 in Bilbao. During a business trip to a European city, my father saw packaged sandwiches for the first time and brought the idea back to Spain. He set up a small workshop with my mother, my uncles, and my grandmother during a difficult time. The first few years were very tough, but little by little they gained customers in supermarkets in the Basque Country and the company began to grow. We Spanishized the English word “sandwich” with the gerund “ing” and Ñaming was born.
When did the turning point come?
Without having finished my degree, I joined the company between 2000 and 2001. We began to expand our routes: first Gipuzkoa, Vitoria, Cantabria, and then Zaragoza and Barcelona. In 2009, we arrived in Madrid. We had outgrown Bilbao and needed a new space, so we found a warehouse in Mallén. At the end of 2010, we made the decision to move all production to Aragón. It was a huge change, almost like starting from scratch, but it was a strategic move. By 2011, all manufacturing was already in Mallén.
Why was Aragón the chosen location?
Zaragoza is a perfect logistics hub for a product as fresh as ours. In five hours by truck, we can reach Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia… that gives us a huge logistical advantage. In addition, we found institutional support and a very favorable business culture. Today, we are a proud Aragonese company.
«My family started making sandwiches in a small workshop in Bilbao. In the last 10 years, we have grown by more than 300% and we produce more than 250 different recipes of fresh food every day.
When did the company become the national leader in sandwiches?
With the move to Mallén and the professionalization of the business. In 2014, my family left the shareholding and a venture capital fund came in, which has been with me ever since. We have grown by more than 300% in the last decade and today we produce more than 250 different recipes every day. We feed more than 225,000 people every day. We are one of the largest kitchens in Spain.
Are sandwiches still the heart of the business?
We are known for our sandwiches because they are our main product, but they are no longer our only product. Sandwiches account for around 80% of our production volume, but we also offer baguettes, wraps, salads, cut fruit, yogurts… all ready to eat. What we do, in reality, is provide food for people who are on the move, who don’t have much time but want to eat well and healthily. Our products are nutritionally balanced, and they are not fast food in the negative sense of the term.
Since 2021, we have had another workshop in Madrid, where we produce the Sansala brand, ultra-fresh products with a production life of less than 10 days. From there, we also supply airplanes, ships, and trains.
What kind of customers do you serve?
We work with all the big names: Repsol, Cepsa, Shell, BP, Galp, Carrefour, Mercadona, Lidl, Alcampo, El Corte Inglés… We are the sole supplier of sandwiches to national gas station chains. In addition, many customers ask us to also serve them salads or cut fruit. They are looking for a comprehensive supplier of fresh food that guarantees quality, safety, and punctuality for those customers who are traveling, on the move, with no time to stop but who want to eat a balanced diet.
How many varieties do you produce each day?
In total, the group produces more than 250 different items every day. Of these, about 60 are sandwiches. To give you an idea of the volume, we feed more than 225,000 people a day. We are one of the largest kitchens in Spain, a giant restaurant.
«The Aragonese businessman is very committed to his land. I have met many Aragonese businessmen and they all share the desire to strengthen Aragon and make it grow. There is a sense of pride in what is theirs, in generating wealth here, and that is very positive.»
After many years surrounded by sandwiches, what is your favorite?
I have been in this environment since I was 12 years old. When I was 13 or 14, I used to go to my parents’ workshop on weekends to stick stickers on the sandwiches when there was a lot of work. Without a doubt, the chicken with curry and almonds is my favorite. We had it and then we took it off the menu, but we’ll bring it back because people really liked it.
Managing a chain like this must be complex. What is the most difficult part?
The company has been around for 35 years, and that carries weight, in a positive sense. It’s important know-how. Making a sandwich seems easy at home, but when you scale it up to 225,000 a day and have to distribute it throughout Spain, France, and Portugal, things get complicated. Purchasing, production, logistics… We work with hundreds of different raw materials—fish, meat, cheese, sauces, vegetables—and everything has to be coordinated on a daily basis. Logistics is another huge challenge: we deliver from Algeciras to Finisterre in a matter of hours. But the most important thing is the team: more than 500 people who work with commitment and coordination. We employ more than 400 people in Mallén and around 100 in Madrid.
«We directly employ more than 500 people: 400 in Mallén and 100 in Madrid. We are one of the largest kitchens in Spain
How do you manage to offer quality in such a delicate product?
The key is food safety and process control. We are the only company in Spain with two workshops certified with the IFS seal, the most demanding worldwide. Our products are ready-to-eat, meaning they are ready to consume without additional cooking processes. They are fresh, safe, and full of life. This provides enormous guarantees to customers such as Repsol, Galp, Mercadona, Lidl, Aldi, Carrefour…
And the keys to success?
Along with the quality and health safety we mentioned earlier, the second lever is the team. There are many of us throughout the value chain, from the management team to the production team. And the motivation of all of them is key. Technology is the third factor, and we’re not just talking about machinery. We have created internal algorithms that help us manage our supply so that we have neither too much nor too little. We have a whole system that allows us to know in real time what we are producing, how much, and at what speed.
And the fourth factor is logistics. Our network is very powerful: we can reach anywhere in Spain in 12 hours. For a product with a short shelf life, logistics is not measured in days, but in hours.
What role does innovation play at Ñaming?
It is fundamental in all aspects: machinery, preservation processes, hygiene systems, and IT. When handling so many raw materials and so much daily production, algorithms have helped us enormously to manage supply and production in real time, avoiding waste and optimizing resources. All information is controlled by digital systems. Big data has replaced the Excel spreadsheets of the early years and has allowed us to grow efficiently. This control has enabled us to offer our customers good prices and earn enough to continue investing.
Did you imagine you would get this far when you started?
When I was 20, I made the company’s first strategic plan, and in fact, we are still following that line. I didn’t know if we would get this far, but I was clear about the path. When I started in 2000, I remember the first production sheet: we were going to make 2,500 sandwiches that day. Today we make over 220,000 a day. In the last 10 years, we have grown by 300%. Today, we continue to grow by 18% annually and expect to double our turnover by 2030, approaching 100 million euros.
“Being in Zaragoza has been key: its logistical location allows us to reach Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, and Bilbao in five hours by truck. It’s a perfect logistics hub for a product as fresh as ours.”
How or where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?
We are dedicated to a type of food that is evolving. Prepared food is growing. Juan Roig has already said it: in a few years, home kitchens will almost disappear. People value their time more. In other European countries, the sandwich market is four times larger than in Spain. That’s one of the areas for growth. We want Spanish consumers to see sandwiches as just another option for their weekly shopping, as valid as any other. It’s a nutritionally balanced product that you can take with you to the mountains, the park… It provides around 15% of the daily nutritional values.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
Focus on execution. The idea is important, yes, but it only accounts for 25% of success. Another 25% is the financial side, and the remaining 50% is execution: daily work, consistency, attention to detail. If you work hard, even with a normal idea, you have a better chance of success than with a great idea that is poorly executed.
How are Aragonese entrepreneurs perceived?
Very committed to their land. I have met many Aragonese entrepreneurs and they all share the desire to strengthen Aragon, to make it grow and take it to the world. There is pride in what is theirs, in generating wealth here, and that is very positive.
