Here is a collection of product names in Spanish I found on a recent trip to the Western Caribbean. Throughout a 10-year career in Marketing, I experienced the importance of establishing a strong brand name. These products names are catchy and funny and now that I am more aware of the differences of Spanish languages in each country, there are some that would have trouble crossing country borders.
Funny Hispanic Product Names in Spanish: Household
1. Blanca Nieves
A dual-use detergent that works for laundry and dishes. It means Snow White in English. Their claim: Leaves your clothes white as snow and your dishes clean and shiny.
2. Pato Mr. Músculo
They are the Spanish names of SC Johnson’s Duck and Mr. Muscle. If you would like to market these products in Puerto Rico, you better use the brand in English because pato is a derogatory slang for gay.
3. Jabón Zote
It is laundry soap from Mexico that uses the play on words jabón and the augmentative zote that means big soap. The actual name of the soap is only Zote that according to the Royal Spanish Academy Dictionary is an adjective that means ignorant, clumsy or a dunce.
4. Los Conejos
This is one of the lead chlorine bleach brands in Costa Rica. It looks like Clorox but is called The Bunnies. Turns out that the majority owner of the local manufacturer is Clorox.
Funny Hispanic Product Names in Spanish: Beauty and Hair Care
5. Crema de Concha Nácar
It is a whitening cream that means Pearl Shell. But be careful in Argentina, Paraguay, Perú, Bolivia among others where concha word is an extremely vulgar word for a woman’s vagina.
6. Moco de Gorila
An extreme hold hair gel that means Gorilla Snot Gel. It sounds disgusting but is a catchy name and a bestseller in the category.
Funny Hispanic Product Names in Spanish: Food and Drinks
7. Mayoketchup
It is the named used in Puerto Rico for the dipping sauce made from mayonnaise and ketchup, a.k.a. in Argentina and Chile as salsa golf.
8. Mostaneza
To my surprise there is also Mostaneza from Colombia that is made from mustard (mostaza) and mayonnaise (mayoneza).
9. Gasolina
Many people that visit Puerto Rico are fascinated with Gasolina or gasoline in its particular pouch package. What looks like a simple juice for kids, is a drink with 11% alcohol per volume (twice as strong as a beer) that contains rum and tequila mixed with fruit juices.
10. Salva Vida
One of the local beers from Honduras. It means Life Saver and it sure is when you are craving a good beer. This one is a must!
From household products to alcoholic drinks, which one was your favorite product name? Do you know any others you can share with us?
Check out these other articles about Spanish Lessons.
