By Makaela Willis, Marketing & Owner Services Assistant
This month we are spotlighting one of the newest Michigan Brands to land on Greentree’s shelves. (Well, in our refrigerators.) J&J Tortilla Company! This company was started officially in 2017 and makes simple and tasty tortillas for everyone to enjoy.
This Michigan Brand spotlight is extra special! I was able to have a little interview with one of the Js in J&J’s Tortillas team! Jason was kind enough to answer a few questions via email. I asked the questions that have been itching the back of my brain since Greentree started carrying these tortillas.
And now I can share the interview with you:
Why did you want to open your own business? Why did you want to own and operate your own family business?
“I have had a desire to open a business of my own as I’ve watched my dad and various family members own and operate businesses of their own. That was enough to inspire me to follow suite. With regards to wanting to own and operate my own family business – my goal was to be able to work alongside my wife and to spend more time with her (and my family!).”
To learn more about Jason and Jaclyn’s story check their website here!
What does J&J stand for?
“J&J stands for me and my wife (Jason & Jaclyn).”
Why tortillas?
“As far as tortillas – my wife and I met a family (The Peter’s Family) from Ontario, Canada back in 2013 and quickly became friends with them. They have been producing flour tortillas and corn tortilla chips for nearly 20+ years. They encouraged us to start a business here in Michigan. We did our research into whether health food stores would be interested, and they were! Our friends have been mentors to us since we met them in 2013.”
What are your personal favorite products and what are your favorite ways to use them?
“We love all of our tortillas and let me say, they are one of the most diverse food products out there! There are nearly endless ways to use a tortilla. Our family loves making personal pizzas with them. It makes for a thin crust, but you can taste the toppings better that way! Also just dipping them in humus is amazing.”
For more tasty ideas to use for when you try J&J Tortillas here is a link to the recipes they put on their website! I love how they set up their recipes as pdfs so that you can try them and print your favorites! I am excited to give them all a try.
What are you looking forward to in the future of your company? Any big plans or events coming up?
“As for the future, we take one day at time. We believe in slow, steady progress. Basically, organic growth. We continue to grow each year. When we officially started in 2017, we picked up our first store in Grand Rapids. We now are in 40+ stores throughout Michigan, with Whole Foods being the most recent new customer. We currently have our eyes set on the Detroit metro market. There seem to be many authentic stores in these areas, and we are excited to soon offer our tortillas to those who live there.”
Now you can find this authentic and tasty family run business here at GreenTree, too. We carry their White, Spelt, Whole Wheat, and Tomato Basil varieties of Tortillas. I am very excited to try all of these as we continue to carry them.
