Jetta's Gourmet Popcorn with Magita "Jetta" Barbee feature 26 of Together Talks
- KLS
- May 18, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 14
"Together Talks" feature 26: Jetta's Gourmet Popcorn presented by KLS, freight company
Some Background on Jetta's Gourmet Popcorn
Today's edition of "Together Talks" campaign, KLS is joined by Magita Barbee aka Jetta, owner of Jetta's Gourmet Popcorn. Big City, Big Flavor - Jetta’s “D” mixes are as distinct as the Detroit communities they represent. The "D" Eastside Mix® is a spicy combination of caramel, white cheddar, cheddar cheese, and hot cheddar, while The "D" Westside Mix® is a laid back mix of caramel, white cheddar, cheddar cheese, and barbee "Q". Her business continues to evolve to meet the needs of an ever changing, ever growing cityscape. As a lifelong Detroiter, there’s no place she’d rather be sharing her handcrafted recipes.
Passion in cooking
Magita has enjoyed cooking all of her life. She obtained a college degree in marketing. Her passion has always been what she calls "fun foods". To her it is foods you get at concessions or can eat walking around. Your nachos, sausage, chili dogs, and around 2010 popcorn was added to the mix. She had always made popcorn at home and the idea came from that. She began selling her homemade popcorn (which was just original butter flavored) for $1 in sandwich bags. Her son then created the first flavor, "Sweet 'N' Salty". Nearly 14 years later her business continues to grow!
Started in 1997
To understand the growth of Jetta's Gourmet Popcorn at this moment we have to go all the way back to 1997. That was the start of Magita's journey into entrepreneurship. She purchased a GMC Chevy Step Van the size of a UPS Truck, formerly used by a linen delivery service and built it out to sell ice cream. Breezin' Concessions was born. On top of hand-dipped ice cream, she also served her "fun foods". As mentioned, almost 13 years later the popcorn was first introduced. Three short years later, it was evident that popcorn was to become the focus. The product was ordered year-round. She retired the truck operations and moved the focus to the popcorn.
Fast forward to 2023 and Jetta's is growing! The product is sold on their website, they also have a stand located inside of Huntington Place (formerly Cobo Center) in Downtown Detroit, which is open during larger events. The product is also found in 4 retail establishments, and they often participate in pop ups as well.
You can find them here!
She also said that one of the goals for this year is to get expand concessions into a larger type of venues. They also recently attended "All Things Detroit" hosted by Jennyfer Crawford which features 250 small business. Jetta's has attended 9 years straight!
Perseverance
When we asked Magita her favorite moment so far she gave us an interesting reflection. It wasn't a big sale, getting into a new establishment, instead it was her thinking back to those early days on the truck. "We would be driving around and this was before we had the proper shelves in the truck and countless times if we drove too fast or turned too hard we'd end up with nacho cheese on the floor, or the jalapeno jar tipped over and wondered why it smelled so spicy! It was these moments that challenged us early on that I can look back at now and laugh and appreciate how far we have come." It is what she calls "The Breezin' Spirit", from her humble beginnings that represents the values of the business which Magita embodies to the fullest. They are the representation of the community and the people who are roots in their community. She told us how up until now she had been hesitant to tell her story, but she is relishing in the fact to do so lately. "To just see how far I have come and give people motivation to chase their dreams means a lot. It makes me happy to see how far I've come and how far I still want to take this company. Everyone has something in them, a passion, follow your dreams and it can possibly make you money!"
It is why she is selective in the hiring process to make sure she is bringing on the correct people to help grow the company. Everything about Jetta's is bringing joy to the consumers.
"Customers can just feel the spirit of our company. Our products are made with love. I believe you can taste that joy we put into every product. There is a passion in our process, we are entangled with our community and it shows in our flavors where we have created a story. We are a representation of the people, roots in our community."
Commitment
On top of being an entrepreneur for nearly 30 years, the most remarkable feat may be that Magita is still a full-time High School teacher! She has been an educator while trying to create a new company on the side. Just a remarkable achievement. It just goes to show how important passion is and why it is easy to see how Magita remains undeterred. She also told us that this year she had the food truck remodeled. That's right, she never sold it! She is excited to have it back out on the streets this year being rebranded as "Jetta's Gourmet Popcorn and Fun Foods!"
In Closing
Just an amazing individual and story and we are grateful to have been introduced to Magita and learn about Jetta's Gourmet Popcorn. A well-deserved edition for today's "Together Talks". Keep up to date with Jetta's from their social media below:
Jetta's has also been featured on Fox 2 twice and Channel 4 in Michigan.
She has also been featured in a number of publications including:
Thank you Magita and Jetta's Gourmet Popcorn for sharing with KLS for this edition of "Together Talks".
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