RESTAURANTS AND RETAIL

Low- and No-Fat Snacks: Newport Beach-based Pacific Snax Corp., which markets gourmet snacks, on Monday said that it had created a joint venture with Cuetara Industries, a Spanish company, that will market new lines of low- and no-fat snacks.

The new venture, Balance Foods, will be jointly owned by Pacific Snax and Cuetara, a food manufacturer in Madrid, Spain, that has annual international revenue of more than $2 billion.

Cuetara, which owns a 25% stake in Pacific Snax, also manufacturers snacks for Pacific Snax in a plant that it owns in Huntington Beach. Richard Damion, Pacific Snax chairman and chief executive officer, said the joint venture will enable Pacific Snax to manufacture the proprietary products used in the company’s extensive lines of low- and no-fat salty snacks currently being sold nationwide.

“We expect this venture to enable Pacific Snax to exceed its revenue goal of $25 million to $30 million in calender year 1995,” Damon said. The company hopes to report 1994 revenue of about $7 million.

Early next year, Pacific Snax will consolidate its production in Las Vegas. Pacific Snax recently acquired a 55% interest in a snack manufacturing company based in Las Vegas. Pacific Snax’ corporate headquarters will remain in Newport Beach.