{"id":383267,"date":"2026-08-28T05:32:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T05:32:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/383267\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T05:32:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T05:32:30","slug":"spice-world-marks-45-years-since-moving-to-orlando","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/383267\/","title":{"rendered":"Spice World marks 45 years since moving to Orlando"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 Its jars of minced garlic are found in grocery stores across the country, but some shoppers may not realize Spice World<\/a> is based in Orlando.<\/p>\n

The company is marking 45 years since it moved its headquarters from New Orleans to Orlando<\/a> in 1981.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Spice World’s First Building in New Orleans <\/p>\n

Spice World was founded in 1949 by Andy \u201cPops\u201d Caneza, a first-generation Sicilian immigrant who began selling garlic to grocery stores in New Orleans. His grandson, Drew Caneza, is now the company\u2019s vice president of sales.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Andy ‘Pops’ Caneza (left) <\/p>\n

By the 1970s, the company was doing substantial business in Florida, particularly with Publix and stores in South Florida. It opened a Miami distribution warehouse in 1972.<\/p>\n

Caneza said his grandfather noticed Orlando\u2019s growth while vacationing in the area in 1979. He returned to New Orleans and told his son, Gary, that the company should consider relocating there.<\/p>\n

Three days later, they drove back to Orlando and found a facility in Orlando Central Park with enough land to expand. The company purchased the property in late 1980 or early 1981.<\/p>\n

Orlando\u2019s location also made sense for a company relying heavily on imports and nationwide distribution, Caneza said.<\/p>\n

Spice World introduced shelf-stable jarred minced garlic in 1987, putting a product more commonly associated with a grocery store aisle into produce sections.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe pioneered putting a glass jar in the produce department of a grocery store \u2014 people thought we were nuts,\u201d Caneza said. \u201cThey said you can\u2019t put glass next to broccoli. But we did it, and now it\u2019s everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company has since expanded its Orlando operations several times. Caneza said it opened its fourth local facility, a national distribution center, in July 2024.<\/p>\n

Although jarred garlic may be its most recognizable product, Caneza said Spice World oversees the process from planting through production. Fresh garlic is largely harvested and clipped by hand, with multiple workers handling each bulb before it is packaged.<\/p>\n

Caneza grew up around the business and began working in its warehouses as a teenager. After graduating from college in May 2002, he joined the company full time the following month.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the folks in our warehouse I\u2019ve known since I was 5 years old,\u201d he said. \u201cEven now, when I walk back into the warehouse, some of those guys still call me Little Drew.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company is now under different ownership, but Caneza family members remain involved in its operations. Caneza said the family continues to emphasize the principles passed down by his grandfather, whose motto was \u201cfaith, family and then garlic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spice World plans to continue investing in its Orlando operations while developing new products and expanding its fresh shallot and peeled garlic businesses, Caneza said.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here<\/a> to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

TOP STORIES FROM WFTV CHANNEL 9<\/p>\n

\u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 Its jars of minced garlic are found in grocery stores across the country, but some…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":383268,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[153686,147,145,153687,28,153685,139,141,140,153684,144,146],"class_list":["post-383267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-andy-pops-caneza","tag-central-florida","tag-channel-9","tag-drew-caneza","tag-florida","tag-minced-garlic","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-spice-world","tag-wftv","tag-wftv-channel-9"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=383267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=383267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=383267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=383267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}