La Monarca Bakery is a beloved Mexican food brand known for its pan dulce, cookies, and coffees. Founded by Ricardo Cervantes and Alfredo Livas, the bakery is “inspired by the pan dulce and pastries we grew up enjoying in our hometown of Mexico.” Fan favorites of the Los Angeles bakery include butter and pecan wedding cookies, orejitas, and polvorones.
“From day one, our mission at La Monarca has been to make delicious products with the sweet flavor of Mexico, creating opportunities in the communities we serve, and caring for our environment,” Cervantes told Remezcla. “These three pillars will always be at our core. For our products, we believe in only using natural high-quality ingredients without artificial flavors or preservatives and we never take shortcuts from this.”
Cervantes also said that he and cofounder Livas “share fond memories of growing up eating pan dulce in Mexico,” and “wanted to bring a slice of home” to the products they developed at La Monarca.
“We are especially proud to preserve and promote such rich cultural celebrations as Dia de Muertos and Rosca de Reyes, which are now also developing a large mainstream following,” Cervantes said. “With national grocery distribution today for our Mexican cookies, coffees, and hot chocolate, we are very excited and proud to continue sharing the Sweet Flavor of Mexico with people all over the U.S.”
In 2024, La Monarca Bakery became a “1% for the Planet” certified company. This means La Monarca has committed to donating at least 1% of annual sales directly to environmental organizations.
For La Monarca that one percent goes to their non-profit partner ECOLIFE Conservation, which helps protect and preserve the Monarch Butterfly. The funds also help improve the lives of families around the Monarch Reserve, which is located about 60 miles northwest of Mexico City.
Recently, La Monarca Bakery announced that it’s adding to its collection of cookies. Starting mid-September, the Mexican food brand will introduce its newest confection: Crunchy Cinnamon Churro Cookies.
Described by La Monarca as “sweet, buttery and flaky,” the churro cookies will debut in 59 Costco stores across Southern California. Cookie samples are also currently available at all 12 La Monarca locations, including Santa Monica, South Pasadena and Boyle Heights.