PBI FOODS – $11.7 MILLION FUNDED
To many, Iowa is unmistakably tied to traditional agriculture – the home state of John Deere and countless farmers, processors, and packagers. But the state is also home to some of the country’s most compelling inventions. PlantBased Innovations, a Massachusetts-based entity, is one such disruptor attempting to bring more sustainable offerings to the American breakfast, lunch, and dinner tables.PBI’s plant-based goods include those one might expect, such as hummus and juice, as well as less obvious SKUs like yogurt and tzatziki made completely from plants.
North Avenue Capital’s first loan in the Hawkeye State, the recently secured $11,712,000 sum will fund the acquisition of an additional processing and packaging facility in Fredericksburg, Iowa. While the entity’s rural location might have made it eligible for funding through the USDA’s Business & Industry Loan Program, the business’s role in the food supply chain gave it an additional opportunity: funding through the USDA’s new USDA Food Supply Chain Loan Program (FSC). NAC’s first USDA FSC Loan, will deploy the funds to purchase furniture, fixtures, and equipment, pay for equipment improvements, and provide working capital. The USDA Food Supply Chain Loan Program was launched in 2021 as a temporary program and was discontinued after the passing of the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act.
NAC Market President Jason Hoerr said, “PBI Foods is a prime example of the significance of the USDA’s Loan Programs to both rural America and the country at large. The FSC loan will allow PBI to construct 197,000 square feet of space from which to put sustainable, innovative, nourishing food on Americans’ tables. NAC is proud to support their work, and grateful for the USDA’s essential role in securing the competitively priced funding.
In rural America, innovation lives on.
