Meijer supports communities, entrepreneurs in several ways at Making It In Michigan
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EmailMeijer is the primary corporate partner of the educational conference and trade show and will have buyers on hand looking for products to put on store shelves
Meijer is not just a community grocery store, it is a community partner. As part of its ongoing commitment to helping communities thrive, Meijer is the primary corporate partner of the 2019 Making It In Michigan Conference and Marketplace Trade Show, Michigan’s premier food entrepreneur event held every year in Lansing.
Making It In Michigan is organized by the Michigan State University Product Center and combines an educational conference for food entrepreneurs along with a trade show that features more than 150 food vendors from around the state, allowing the public and retailers to identify the next great Michigan food product.
The choice to partner with Making It In Michigan was an easy one, said Amanda Mcvay, Group Vice President in Meijer’s grocery division, as both Meijer and the MSU Product Center are driven by a mission to enrich the lives of the communities they serve.
“Supporting local entrepreneurs in the food industry allows us to build a relationship with our communities and really helps drive our mission,” she said. “It also allows us access to innovative and forward thinking people in the food industry and allows us to gauge the pulse of our customers.”
Meijer doesn’t only provide financial support for Making It In Michigan. The retailer also sends buyers to help identify products to stock its shelves in upcoming years. Just as important, Mcvay said, it allows Meijer to meet one-on-one with current vendors who already have food on Meijer shelves and help build personal relationships.
“There’s always so much energy at Making It In Michigan,” Mcvay said. “It’s a fun group to be around, and to see all these creative ideas come to life. We get a chance to talk directly to new entrepreneurs and discuss how they are trying to solve problems for their customers.”
The 2019 Making It In Michigan Conference and Marketplace Trade Show will take place Wednesday, Nov. 13 at the Lansing Center in Lansing, Michigan, and will have sessions on selling your product to institutions, working with a retailer, common hurdles for new food entrepreneurs and more.
The vendor trade show will feature more than 150 booths, featuring Michigan-made products, and businesses and buyers from major retailers will be present looking for items they can add to their stores. Buyers on site will include those from large companies like Meijer, independent grocers, specialty food retailers, food-co-ops and specialty gift businesses.
To register for the conference, visit https://events.anr.msu.edu/MIIM2019.
Meijer is the primary corporate sponsor of the 2019 Making It In Michigan Conference and Marketplace Trade Show, but there are nearly 20 additional partners and sponsors, including Kroger, Biggby, SpartanNash and the Michigan Good Food Fund. To see a full list of sponsors go to https://canr.msu.edu/miim/sponsors.
People can learn more about Meijer’s commitment to community involvement and engagement and enrichment at https://meijercommunity.com. On the site you can learn more about their work in education, health and wellness, disaster relief and sustainability. You can also learn how to partner with them on your community project.