With its eyes locked on company growth, Heartisan Foods has announced a deal to purchase North Country Packaging. Through this transaction, the specialty and flavored cheese brand will triple its manufacturing capacity, support its Cheese Brothers online brand with expanded fulfillment capabilities, and enable the company to launch new innovative products in the cheese spreads and curds categories. North Country Co-Founders Kendall and Maria Goossen will retain a significant stake in the combined entity.
“We’ve known the Goossens and their colleagues at North Country for years, and we share the exact same vision,” says Gene Graf, Chief Executive Officer of Heartisan. “The added capacity comes at just the right time, given that we’re currently running our production facilities at full steam. With 32 different North Country cheese spreads and cheese curds to choose from, Heartisan’s customers now have a different flavor to enjoy every day of any month.”
North Country’s range of products includes offerings from tomato & sweet basil curds to habanero ghost pepper spreads, a release stated.
To finance the purchase of North Country, Ronin is using a $10 million revolving credit line established for Heartisan when the brand was formed in 2021. Ronin created Heartisan through the acquisition and merger of flavored and smoked cheese specialists Red Apple Cheese, Barron County Cheese, and the direct-to-consumer e-commerce business Cheese Brothers.
“This deal is the perfect way to accelerate growth, speed up innovation, and expand cutting-edge products at both companies,” added Kendall Goossen, who will be taking on a Senior Executive role at Heartisan.
Heartisan has seen yearly revenues of more than $50 million, and sales and profits have risen 30 percent annually since its inception. The company’s flavored and smoked cheese is distributed across the United States through more than 12,000 retail outlets.
“Expanding capacity and driving innovation in new flavors and product categories shows our retail and consumer partners how committed we are to supporting their needs and driving growth,” said Ronin Partner Tiffany Bell, a Heartisan Board Member. “The expanded capacity will enhance our margins and give us better control of the supply chain, fulfillment, and quality.”
Keep reading Deli Market News to see what comes next for Heartisan after this purchase.
