The history of Conservas Rías Baixas is, at its heart, the story of a family and a territory bound together by the sea. In this article we trace the journey from Cangas to Moaña — how a small Galician salting business from the early 20th century became, more than a century later, the preserve maker you know today. Understanding this journey helps explain why we continue to defend the same values that gave rise to the company.
1907: the origins in Cangas do Morrazo
It all begins in 1907, when the Iglesias family started their first fish-salting business in Cangas do Morrazo, an activity deeply tied to the maritime and economic life of the area. In those years, Galicia was going through a key transformation in its preserve-making industry: the region came to have as many as 150 businesses in the sector, 20 of them in Cangas alone, which became one of the great preserve-making hubs of the Morrazo peninsula.
It was in that environment that what was then known as Conservas Iglesias grew, learning the craft, the sea, and a tradition passed down from generation to generation. That early stage shaped the character of the company long before it carried the name it has today, and many of the working criteria of that first generation can still be recognised in how the company operates now.
From salting to preserves: the shift of 1960
The next major milestone came in 1960, when the company permanently left salting behind and focused its activity on making fish preserves. Shortly after, shellfish preserves were added too, taking advantage of the richness of the Galician environment and expanding the product range. This change of focus established the company as a true preserve maker, leaving behind its origins as a salting business.
- 1907: start of the salting business in Cangas do Morrazo.
- 1960: shift towards making fish and shellfish preserves.
- 2016: the production activity moves from Cangas to Moaña.
- 2018: the Cachero family acquires the company and Conservas Rías Baixas 1907 is born.
2016: the move from Cangas to Moaña
One of the most important changes in the company’s recent history came in 2016: production moved from the historic facilities in Cangas to a new, modern plant in Moaña, designed to meet the challenges of today’s preserve-making industry. This move from Cangas to Moaña made it possible to modernise production processes without losing the essence of the craft that had been developed since the early 20th century.
You can learn more about how this current factory is organised in our Conservas Rías Baixas facilities section, where a large part of our production capacity is concentrated today.
What the move to Moaña really meant
Moving from Cangas to Moaña was more than just a change of address. It meant equipping the company with a factory designed from scratch for today’s preserve-making processes, with freezing and thawing chambers, several packing and closing lines, and large-capacity autoclaves capable of working with the most common can formats in Spain. This new infrastructure allowed the company to gain capacity and efficiency without giving up the recipes and production criteria inherited from previous decades.
Over time, this structure has been complemented by a dedicated logistics centre in O Porriño, for storage and order preparation, which has allowed the company to clearly separate production and logistics within its organisation.
2018: a new stage with the Cachero family
In 2018, the Cachero family acquired the company with the aim of driving a new stage of growth and consolidation. That’s how Conservas Rías Baixas 1907 was born — a name that pays tribute to the company’s founding year while opening a new chapter in its history. Since then, the company has continued to move forward, adding new product lines and strengthening its commitment to sustainability, which you can learn about on our environmental commitment page.
If you want to read the full story of this journey, with every detail, visit our history page. And if you want to see what that whole journey has become today, we invite you to discover our selection of preserves in our online shop. More than a century after those first salting barrels in Cangas, the sea is still the starting point of everything we do.
If you’d like to learn first-hand how the company has evolved, or you’re curious about any particular moment in our history, you can write to us through our contact page. We like sharing the journey that has brought us here, because understanding where we come from also helps us understand what we do today.
