Small Business Support Hubs Spotlight: Battle Creek Food Reimagined

“Battle Creek Food Reimagined’s business development ecosystem is designed to remove barriers for food entrepreneurs at every stage,” said marketing consultant Heather Meyer. “From concept to commercialization, we provide skill-building, education, practical tools and access to grant opportunities that help transform great ideas and recipes into sustainable food businesses.”

An initiative of Battle Creek Unlimited, Battle Creek Food Reimagined (BCFR) serves as a Small Business Support Hub and SmartZone that fosters innovation, entrepreneurship and growth within the food and agribusiness sector. With support from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), the hub provides entrepreneurs and emerging companies with access to specialized resources, business services and collaborative space designed to accelerate commercialization and scale. By combining targeted small business support with the SmartZone’s focus on providing access to programs aimed at supporting entrepreneurs in the high-tech food industry, BCFR is helping to position Battle Creek as a center for food innovation and economic opportunity.

In October 2025, BCFR celebrated the ribbon cutting for the Battle Creek Innovation Hub, established in partnership with Grand Valley State University (GVSU). The Innovation Hub will feature coworking spaces, an accelerator kitchen, podcast studio, offices and event venues. As the anchoring tenant, BCFR will continue to provide services and resources to entrepreneurs in the Battle Creek region and beyond.

BCFR connects its clients with several other allied programs that support new businesses, such as the GVSU Michigan Veteran Entrepreneur Lab (MVE-Lab) inside the new Innovation Hub, which kicked off its latest cohort in October. The MVE-Lab is an entrepreneurial accelerator program tailored for military-connected individuals in Michigan, developed and led by the Richard M. and Helen DeVos Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at GVSU. As part of the Cohort, local founders and innovators work to refine their business ideas, strengthen their strategies and prepare to pitch for $15,000 in funding.

MVE-Lab is among several opportunities promoted through BCFR’s Small Business Support Hub program, which also include training powered by JPG resources and the Michigan Small Business Development Center (SBDC)-sponsored Recipe for Success series, an eight-week educational program for mobile food businesses and restaurants.

Two standout local entrepreneurs found their own recipe for success thanks to support from BCFR: DelectAble Treats and Sweets and Pops Family Kitchen and Catering.

DelectAble Treats and Sweets 

As the mother of children with special needs, Felicia Jaramillo always dreamed of opening a business that would include people who have different abilities. During the pandemic, the company she worked for shut down, and she decided to go to Kellogg Community College for business management.

For a project in her last semester, Jaramillo developed a business idea called DelectAble Treats and Sweets. After graduation she began testing her food products at the local farmers market in May 2024. She says she learned a lot and gained traction quickly; “I became known as the donut and bagel lady!”

Two months later, Jaramillo won a Golden Spoon award at the annual Food Prize event held at Kellogg Arena, which raised her visibility and facilitated a connection with BCFR. She worked with Dana Edwards at Sprout BC, a local incubation kitchen, to learn the steps she needed to get her business off the ground. Edwards connected her with the SBDC to receive free business coaching.

Jaramillo says she took advantage of every resource she could think of, from attending BCFR’s networking events to participating in its Recipe for Success cohort. “I love getting to know the other local food entrepreneurs,” she says. “We bounce ideas off each other and learn and grow together. We want each other to succeed, because it’s about making our community better.”

Jaramillo credits Northern Initiatives – also supported by the MEDC – which helped her with writing a business plan, learning financial literacy and discovering funding and lending opportunities.

“All of the people and companies at Sprout, SBDC and BCFR are connected and have created an ecosystem that is intended to help these local food businesses thrive. Battle Creek is lucky to have all of this for small businesses. I don’t think many other places have so many cool opportunities. I never in my life thought I would be where I’m at today. I moved here from Ohio and didn’t know a soul. I have organically created something here. I’m about to move into a location in downtown Battle Creek.”

Pops Family Kitchen and Catering

Originally from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, John Capers was missing the taste of his family’s cooking when he met his wife and moved to Michigan.  He learned how to cook from his mother, aunts and uncle, who owned a barbecue place in his hometown. John worked at the restaurant growing up and decided to recreate the taste of home for his own family in Michigan. What started as a few dinners here and there turned into a growing demand for his Southern home cooking.

“That’s how Pops Family Kitchen came to be born,” Capers says. “I started putting the pieces of the puzzle together and finding out what I needed to do, from getting with the health department to meeting with others who were interested in business.”

Capers started his journey by taking a cohort business class through Northern Initiatives; he already knew how to cook but needed assistance with running a business. He was then referred to BCFR and connected with managing director Gabriella Perez-Hernandez, who talked through Capers’ needs to get his business off the ground.

“I needed equipment after going through a bad business deal, and she said, ‘Let’s see what we can do.’ We started putting together a program for myself, and they awarded me a $5,000 grant that really helped me get the equipment I needed to set up. They also set me up with office spaces to meet with clients. They opened their doors to me, and I have been so grateful to them.”

Capers says he would recommend utilizing BCFR’s resources to any aspiring food entrepreneur, from learning about running a business and grant opportunities to making connections with fellow small business owners. He also currently participates in the MVE-Lab.

“There’s a lot of programs out there that we don’t know about as entrepreneurs, and BCFR has those connections.”

Learn more about the Small Business Support Hubs helping entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners across the state.