Cartel Food Company “Home Grown in Martinborough”

By Lyle Griffiths

Nine years ago, Jason and Melissa Phillips founded the Cartel Food Company and began perfecting the art of making burritos as a frozen snack. Working on Sundays out of Providore’s Kitchen they made their first 200 frozen burritos. 

“Initially we had only two customers,” said Melissa. “Pain and Kershaw and Moore Wilson’s.”

“During the initial stages we had to perfect our recipes, Smoky Chipotle Beef, Chili Lime Chicken, Beans and Cheese. We had to establish our brand. We had to promote the product and focus on distribution, ensuring that we always made sufficient supplies to meet demand. Quality control for consistency ensuring the product was well displayed and correctly labelled was imperative,” she adds.

“Wellington New World Supermarkets were our first target. Each store had to be approached individually and we had to gain consent from every Frozen Food Manager.

“Many people said ‘No.’ But tenacity is the name of the game, so you just keep on asking. One supermarket kept saying ‘No’ but after calling once a month every month for eighteen months I had a positive answer.

“Within 6 months we had outgrown Providore’s Kitchen. With no large-scale manufacturing premises in Martinborough we chose to use a contracting manufacturer. For two years we used ‘Frozen Fresh’ in Tauranga producing 2,000 burritos per week.

“But our markets kept growing. It was no longer just Wellington New World and some Pak ‘N Save stores. Our reach now included supermarkets in Auckland and Christchurch. We were outgrowing the capacity of ‘Frozen Fresh.’ This was the pivotal moment. We decided we could do this ourselves.

It involved another whole step of learning, understanding food control plans, health and safety requirements, purchasing equipment, hiring staff and finding a suitable premise in Martinborough. “I had trained as a chef”, laughs Melissa, “but not for large-scale manufacturing. That was a huge learning curve.”

“In 2018 we moved into our new factory behind the Hive in Jellicoe Street. We had four employees. We expected to be there for 3 to 4 years. Then Covid struck. It was a game-changer. 

“Supermarkets were open and customers still shopped. Contrary to what other retailers were experiencing, our sales skyrocketed to 15,000 per week.

Expansion was critical. The product was now stocked nationwide in New World, Woolworths, Pak ‘N Save, 4 Square, Fresh Choice and Supervalue stores. The product is distributed from Foodstuffs and Woolworths main centres.

“In 2021 we moved to larger premises in Princess St and are now employing 14 staff.

“Enchilada Baked meals, recently launched, are the next mouthwatering steppingstone in our business. Chicken Braised with Chipotle Chilli smothered in Enchilada Red Sauce or Beef Chilli Rojo.

“We are really proud of how far we have come,” says Melissa. “We have a superb staff and the atmosphere in the factory is fun, with lots of laughs.

“We have created a nationally-based business in a small town. What could be better than that?”

Caption: The next burrito brew stews in the cauldron as Melissa Phillips checks its progress.