PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Set up inside J. Brewer Food Pavilion at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give this weekend are several diverse, locally-owned restaurants and vendors.
Some of the vendors at the tournament have worked with Meijer’s diverse supplier program to get their products on shelves, like Reyna’s Michelada Mix, a product that celebrated its launch on Sunday.
Owner Reyna Masko said the drink mix is expected to be on the shelves of Bridge Street Market in Grand Rapids and Capital City Market in Lansing in a few weeks. The mix is similar to bloody Mary, but it is paired with lager instead of vodka. It can also be made non-alcoholic by mixing it with ginger beer.
Masko, who was born in El Salvador and grew up in Houston, Texas, where michelada is popular, hopes to make the drink more mainstream.
“Food and drinks bring people together and I like to be able to bring a Latin product to the mainstream, so that it can become just as a mainstream as a bloody Mary is,” she said. “I hope that in a couple of years when you ask somebody that is not Hispanic what a michelada is, they know it.”
Masko said she heard great reviews from the people trying it out at the LPGA Tournament.
“Our product is all naturally made, non-GMO, vegan, gluten-free without losing an ounce of flavor, and so we’re glad to be hearing that from the people that are trying our mix,” she said. “I hear a lot of great things from people trying it for the first time, especially on a hot day like this. It’s so refreshing.”
She said Meijer helped her and offered coaching to launch her products.
“Meijer, their DEI team and everyone else involved has been great mentors to me and have really made all of this possible,” Masko said.
Brian Williams, the research and development chef at Meijer, said it has worked to streamline the process for new vendors to get diverse products on shelves.
“Meijer put a lot of focus into diversity, equity inclusion over the last couple years, and we really wanted to figure out a way to feature that this year at the LPGA J. Brewer Food Pavilion,” he said.
Other vendors at the tournament Friday with products on Meijer shelves included Spiced Up by Chef Calvin, Stock Da Bar Premium Vodka, Amazing Myanmar Asian Cuisine and the Roche Collection wine.