Shatila Food Products

The sweet scent of pure butter, toasted pistachios and warm sugar syrup has drifted through Dearborn since 1979. That was the year Riad Shatila, an immigrant from Lebanon, founded Shatila Food Products. He set out to share authentic, preservative-free Middle Eastern pastries crafted with the same loving care bakers have used for centuries.

When Riad passed away in 2013, his daughter, Nada Shatila, along with her sister and mother, stepped up to lead the legacy business. Today, Shatila Food Products is a thriving, woman-owned enterprise beloved for its tissue-thin baklava, premium ice cream and traditional cookies. But as local demand soared and the factory’s capacity stretched to its limits, the family realized it was time to look beyond Michigan’s borders and expand their sweet footprint globally.

Expanding an established manufacturing business into international markets is no simple recipe. Nada knew they needed strategic guidance to navigate the complex world of global logistics and digital marketing. That is when she connected with Amanda Binder, a senior business consultant with the Michigan SBDC.

With a background in finance and marketing, Amanda recognized that Shatila Food Products already operated like a well-oiled machine. The challenge was matching their stellar internal operations with a solid international strategy.

To help the business transition smoothly into global markets, Amanda and the Michigan SBDC team provided a specialized suite of export services—all at no cost. They conducted a landed cost analysis to help Nada understand the true cost of shipping products internationally, including duties, taxes and freight fees, so the company could price its pastries competitively.

They also performed export readiness assessments to review operational capacity and compliance, ensuring the bakery was fully prepared to scale up for foreign distribution. Additionally, the plan is to implement international search engine optimization, a high-impact digital marketing service that can cost upwards of $2,000, to optimize Shatila Food Products’ online presence for foreign search engines.

The results of the collaboration speak for themselves. Through their partnership with the Michigan SBDC, exporting efforts have risen to account for a solid 20 percent of Shatila Food Products’ total sales.

The business has also grown its global reach by collaborating with other key partner organizations. The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development supported international trade missions to Toronto and other global destinations to connect the company with foreign wholesalers. Furthermore, the U.S. Small Business Administration recognized the bakery’s hard work with an Exporter of the Year nomination and award.

Today, Shatila Food Products is actively exploring expansion into the Caribbean and has streamlined shipping by outsourcing direct exporting efforts to FedEx freight and air to assist with complex international paperwork. The business has also engaged specialized brokers and exporters to ensure a secure and straightforward process.

Reflecting on the journey, Nada noted that exporting has allowed the family business to increase its global presence and solidify the brand’s reputation for high-quality pastries. She encourages other small business owners to remain resilient as they pursue growth.

“Success does not happen overnight,” Nada said. “In fact, sometimes it just looks like a series of failures. You have to keep just chipping away, being patient with your progress and giving yourself grace. Eventually, success will find you as long as you stay dedicated and you continue committing to your path.”