U.S.: Veggie Noodle Co simmers into new states with recent investment
Texas-based Veggie Noodle Co plans to use a recent investment from a private equity firm to significantly boost capacity and expand its products into the remaining contiguous U.S. states.
The entity received the minority equity investment from Encore Consumer Capital and hopes the financing will help boost its already rapid growth.
Veggie Noodle Co was founded by Mason Arnold in 2015 and has since undergone a major national expansion, with the products now sold in retailers like Whole Foods and Kroger.
Marketing coordinator Jennie Shen explained part of the reason Arnold had created the company was out of a desire to find provide fun options for his family members who had dietary restrictions.
"We've seen a lot of great growth," she told Fresh Fruit Portal.
"We started with one store in 2015 in Austin, Texas and since then in just two years we’ve expanded to over 1,400 stores in 35 states and we’re still seeing that number continue to grow."
Organic vegetables are sourced from farms across the U.S. and Mexico and processed at a facility in Austin.
The flagship items include spirals made from sweet potato, zucchini, and butternut, and the company later introduced a line of 'Veggiccine' products - its take on the thicker fettuccine pasta.
In June the company took home the United Fresh 2017 Produce Innovation Award for Best New Vegetable Product.
Shen explained the recent investment will be used for various different purposes.
"The investment will largely go toward expanding our new facility which will be located in East Austin and expanding our capacity, as well as growing our sales and marketing team," she said.
"It will also give us the opportunity to expand our product line - spiralize some other veggies and some seasonal picks that we have coming out in a couple of months as well."
The new facility is anticipated to increase production capacity five-fold.
Construction is due to be completed in the coming weeks, with everything set to be up and running by early September.
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