‘BIG 4’ Scores First Win, Keeping Juanita’s Foods in Southern California

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JUANITA’S FOODS will consolidate production from its longtime Wilmington operation into a 120,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at 13100 Arctic Circle in Santa Fe Springs.

Four neighboring Los Angeles County cities that once competed against one another for industrial employers are celebrating the first major success of a new regional partnership: keeping Juanita’s Foods and its manufacturing operations in Southern California.

Commerce, City of Industry, Santa Fe Springs and Vernon formed the BIG 4 alliance in October 2025, creating a coordinated economic development effort designed to attract investment, retain businesses and strengthen one of Southern California’s most important industrial corridors.

Less than a year later, the partnership has its first completed deal.

Juanita’s Foods, the 80-year-old Southern California company best known for its Mexican-style menudo and pozole, will consolidate production from its longtime Wilmington operation into a 120,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at 13100 Arctic Circle in Santa Fe Springs.

The decision followed what company officials described as an “exhaustive nationwide search” for the location of Juanita’s next major manufacturing operation.

Santa Fe Springs played a significant role in keeping the company in the region. The city previously approved an economic development package that included a loan of up to $13.5 million to assist Juanita’s with relocation and equipment costs, along with permitting, relocation and employee-related incentives.

The BIG 4 partnership provided another advantage by allowing the four cities to coordinate resources and work together rather than compete against one another for the company.

“We conducted an exhaustive nationwide search before deciding where Juanita’s Foods would build its next chapter,” Jody Jordan, chief operating officer of Juanita’s Foods, said.

“Ultimately, the combination of Santa Fe Springs’ business-friendly approach, the right facility and a competitive incentive package made staying in Southern California a no-brainer. It allowed us to remain where Juanita’s was founded while continuing to invest in our people and our future.”

Juanita’s has deep roots in Southern California. Founded 80 years ago, the company has grown into the maker of the No. 1 brand of Mexican-style menudo and pozole in the United States.

Keeping that manufacturing activity in Los Angeles County is precisely the type of project BIG 4 officials envisioned when they created the alliance.

“This is what becomes possible when cities stop looking at economic development as a competition and start looking at it as a regional opportunity,” Santa Fe Springs City Manager René Bobadilla said. “By working together, we were able to align resources, move with greater speed, and give Juanita’s Foods a clear path to invest and grow here in the region.”

Commerce City Manager Ernie Hernandez said the agreement demonstrates the value of cooperation among the four cities.

“Juanita’s Foods is a strong example of why we established the BIG 4,” Hernandez said. “Our cross-city collaboration enables us to better support businesses, retain investment, and strengthen the regional industrial economy. This initial agreement validates our partnership and lays a solid foundation for future growth.”

City of Industry City Manager Joshua Nelson said the alliance allows the cities to present businesses with a more coordinated approach.

“This is what the BIG 4 was designed to do: let four cities move with one voice instead of four separate processes,” Nelson said. “That’s an advantage this partnership was built to create, and it’s exactly why we came together in the first place.”

Vernon City Administrator Brian Saeki said the region’s ability to work collectively can provide an advantage when competing for businesses and investment.

“This region can offer businesses support that’s hard to find anywhere else, and Juanita’s Foods is proof of what that makes possible,” Saeki said. “That’s what we intend to keep building for the businesses that come next.”

Together, Commerce, City of Industry, Santa Fe Springs and Vernon represent approximately 250 million square feet of industrial space, more than 5,000 businesses and a combined workforce of 200,000, generating an estimated $33 billion in industrial economic output.

Historically, the four neighboring cities often competed for many of the same manufacturers, warehouses and industrial employers. BIG 4 represents a different strategy: coordinating investment attraction, incentives and technical standards to make the entire region more competitive.

Juanita’s Foods is the first company the alliance has worked with directly since its formation.

For Juanita’s, the deal provides room to expand while remaining close to its Southern California roots and workforce.

For the four cities, it provides an early example of what they hoped BIG 4 could accomplish — combining their resources to keep investment, manufacturing and jobs in the region rather than watching them leave Southern California.