Agustin Armendaiz is the proud owner of Distribudora de Alimentos Sendero, a tortilla manufacturing company that services local retailers and restaurants in the Rio Grande Valley with a variety of tortilla products.
Agustin’s entrepreneurial journey began in Monterrey, Mexico when his neighbor and friend showed him the ropes of the tortilla manufacturing industry. He saw opportunity and built a business that took off to a great start, catering to 2,000 tortillerias across Mexico.
He was proud of his success, but after doing extensive market research, Agustin realized there was greater opportunity for his business in the United States — so he moved to South Texas.
Despite Agustin’s experience and success in Mexico, his operation in Edinburg started from humble beginnings. Agustin remembers purchasing used tortilla machines and altering them to fit his needs, and hand delivering orders to his customers. He didn’t mind starting small because he knew that the pathway to success included hard work, determination, learning from others’ mistakes and having faith in oneself.
Agustin learned about LiftFund while attending a networking event. He visited with the staff to learn about credit and secure a loan to help him expand and fulfill new client orders. As the business grew, LiftFund was there to support Agustin with additional capital to purchase equipment and serve more customers.
Today, Distribudora de Alimentos Sendero is an established and well-known brand in the community, but for Agustin the road to success is not over. He is currently working with LiftFund on a SBA 504 loan to build his own manufacturing facility, which will allow him to further increase capacity and make his tortillas available to customers nationwide.
