Two years ago, The United Family resurrected a role to approach the Hispanic population innovatively. Hispanic heritage lends a strong consumer base within the United Family footprint, giving the opportunity to dedicate innovation and talent dedicated to the Hispanic culture; leading to the development of the Hispanic Innovation Manager role, currently carried by Rebekah Bernal.
Hispanic Innovation
Abasto spoke with Rebekah Bernal, Hispanic Innovation Manager at The United Family, also known as United Supermarkets, Amigos, and Albertsons Market, which has a presence in West Texas and New Mexico.
“In Hispanic innovation, we research cultural experience preferences of items and products that we carry within our stores. “We primarily focus on the Amigos brand, which is the Hispanic brand of The United family”, said Bernal about the brand with four stores in Plainview, Amarillo, Lubbock, and Hereford, Texas.
“We at The United Family are good stewards when it comes to sales and profits, ensuring the best products are provided to our guests,” said Bernal, the company’s current Hispanic Innovation Manager.
She also gets to work closely with the Albertsons Market banner. “Our Hispanic-focused stores range from Perryton to Midland, Odessa, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, not to mention many stores in between,” said Bernal.
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Events
At Amigos, there are educational events for Hispanics and non-Hispanics: Quinceañera, Día de Muertos, a tamale contest, and a health fair are just a few examples.
“We do events such as the Mis Quince Expo, a free Expo where we collaborate with our local partners within our community,” said Bernal.
We strive to have a good relationship with neighboring local businesses as they are the key to successful collaboration and partnerships between our locations.
“The best part of my role is working with many different departments from produce, bakery, deli, and even the meat market. It’s not just center store focus.” We find innovative ways to bring many diverse products to our guests.”
Diversity is Key
Hispanic innovation is significant for a company with 107 years of operation. “We’re a very diverse company, and we pride ourselves on being diverse in all the areas that we serve. I think it’s important to our family that we capture every guest, whether you’re Hispanic or not Hispanic,” said Bernal about the United Family of stores based in Lubbock.
As of December 2023, United Supermarkets, LLC, or The United Family®, operates stores in 54 Texas and New Mexico communities.
The United Family operates 98 stores under five unique banners: United Supermarkets, Market Street, Amigos, Albertsons Market, and United Express, along with ancillary operations R.C. Taylor Distributing, USM Manufacturing, United Food and Beverage Services, and Llano Logistics. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Albertsons Companies, Inc.
“It’s important to our banners that we stay ahead of the trend to continue to grow our business to continued success,” said Bernal.
Rebekah Bernal
- Professional experience. She has worked for two companies: Dairy Queen (during high school) and The United Family.
Nineteen years ago, she joined The United Family, working part-time as a checker. In 2014, she helped open the first Amigos in Hereford, Texas, and became a store director in 2016. She was the store director of the Amigos store in Plainview for seven years before being the Hispanic Innovation Manager at The United Family.
In 2023, she received a Purple Spirit Award for the United Division. The award celebrates women in the grocery industry who are flipping the status quo. - Hobbies and personal life. Rebekah enjoys traveling with her family. She has been married to her husband for 15 years, and they have four children, ages 19 to 11. She is currently a part of the Junior League of Lubbock.