Meijer Partners with Detroit Family-Owned Hacienda Mexican Foods

Meijer has partnered with Detroit-based manufacturer Hacienda Mexican Foods. The partnership will not only place authentic, handmade products in each of the retailer's 222 stores across the Midwest, but it will also allow the small family-owned manufacturer to expand its operation and create local jobs in southwest Detroit. "Meijer is committed to supporting Michigan businesses because it's what our customers want and deserve," says Peter Whitsett, executive vice president of merchandising and marketing for Meijer. "But the impact of this partnership with Hacienda Mexican Foods means so much more. It has created a ripple effect that has encouraged business growth and created jobs in the city of Detroit." The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer began its partnership with Hacienda Mexican Foods in June 2014 when it began carrying corn and flour tortillas in 50 of its Michigan stores. The success of the product was quickly realized, which ultimately led to an expansion throughout the retailer's Midwest footprint this fall and the inclusion of tortilla chips. Hacienda Mexican Foods provides each Meijer store with three varieties of authentic, handmade tortilla chips—salted, unsalted and chili lime—and corn and flour tortillas. So far, the products have achieved a triple-digit percentage increase, say company officials. Owner Lydia Gutierrez said the increased business provided opportunity—to more than double the business she started in the early 1990s with her late husband, to support the local economy, and most importantly, to hire 40 individuals who live in the Mexicantown neighborhood where her business is located. "The jobs we are giving to the community are for people who are hard workers, but maybe they do not have all the education," Gutierrez says. "We've been able to change lives, change a community. We could not do what we're doing today if it was not for Meijer's willingness to work with us. It's been such a blessing." Gutierrez says she's also added a second shift at her manufacturing plant in Mexicantown to fulfill the retailer's orders. The authentic tortillas and tortilla chips are handmade daily, and distributed to Meijer stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin within days.