One of the world’s leading producers of sauerkraut has moved its headquarters to Wisconsin and is expanding its manufacturing operations in the state, with help from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
Fermented Food Holdings, Inc. is investing $13 million to expand local production in Bear Creek and relocate its corporate headquarters to Madison. WEDC is assisting the expansion with $500,000 in performance-based tax credits. The amount of credits the company will receive is contingent on the amount of capital invested and the number of jobs created. Up to 60 new jobs are anticipated with 41 of them in Bear Creek.
Fermented Food Holdings is one of the world’s largest producers of sauerkraut and fermented foods, shipping its products to all 50 states and internationally. The company’s primary business is the development, manufacturing and distribution of natural fermented food products like sauerkraut, pickles and kimchi. Fermented Food Holdings owns brands such as Silver Floss, the best-selling sauerkraut nationwide, and Bubbies, the premier brand of refrigerated pickles in natural foods channel.
The company’s expansion in Bear Creek will add a new fermentation room, cooler, and production line that will increase the facility’s capacity by 20 million pounds of cabbage annually – a 20% increase over current production.
Wisconsin is the fourth largest producer of cabbage in the United States, with major farms located in Outagamie, Racine, Kenosha and Waukesha counties.
“A big motivation for us is to get closer to the source and strengthen our relationships with local farms,” said Jorge Azevedo, CEO of Fermented Food Holdings. “We were buying from brokers, buying from farms that were certified organic – but we didn’t know the people growing the product. You couldn’t call up their cell phone and know the family who grew it for you. We find that connection to be very important.”
Azevedo was named CEO of the company Oct. 22. Azevedo previously served as chief operating officer since joining the company in 2022. The company until now has been led by Co-Presidents Oliver Joost and Marcelo Marim since it was founded in 2021. Joost moved to serve as executive chairman and continues as co-president, while Marcelo Marim remains co-president, acting CFO, and a member of the board.
Before joining FFH, Azevedo was a founding partner and chief growth officer at Planterra Foods, a plant-based start-up in Boulder, Colorado, where he spearheaded strategic growth initiatives. Prior, he held a senior leadership role at Kraft Heinz as head of U.S. sales execution and finance, where was instrumental in the $16 billion post-merger integration of Kraft and Heinz retail sales. Azevedo began his career as an analyst at Goldman Sachs before then earning his MBA with honors from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He completed his undergraduate at Brigham Young University.
Fermented Food Holdings has had a 50% year-over-year increase over the past three years. Bubbies is now the go-to refrigerated fermented food brand in the U.S., while wildbrine leads as the most sought-after sauerkraut brand in the natural channel. Building on this momentum, the company recently expanded its portfolio with the launch of Flanagan Farm, a new organic brand of sauerkraut.
