Since 1994, Business Finance Solutions has been financing or providing consulting services to specialty food and beverage manufacturers in Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Alaska.
Mexican Food Product Company – Texas
Products: corn chips, frozen enchiladas, frozen tamales.
Distribution: Walmart, regional grocery stores, restaurants.
Our customer shipped four large freezer trucks a week to Walmart.
HEB, A San Antonio based grocery store chain was also a large customer. We provided growth capital and equipment finance for many years until the business sold.
Part of the challenge our client had to overcome was the cost of new store slotting fees. Another challenge was delivering frozen enchiladas in the kind of sealed packaging Walmart wanted. Our financing allowed the manufacturer to have the right kind of equipment and the ability to produce the quantities customers wanted.
Sangria Wine Producer – New Jersey, New York
Products: red and white sangria wine.
Distribution: NE United States.
Our client spent two years creating a low alcoholic content sangria wine.
He produces two flavors, white sangria wine, and red sangria wine.
His recipes include fresh fruit juices sourced from the US and South America. Production is complicated because the product requires pasteurization.
We provided working capital for about five years.
Fish Processing – Alaska
Products: fresh salmon, Pacific cod, other seasonal fish. Gourmet smoked, canned salmon.
Distribution: fresh fish through fish distributors throughout the US. Smoked fish products direct to consumer and Alaskan visitors.
Our customer was a seasonal Alaska-based fish processor. They owned a fish processing ship that anchored 15 miles off-shore so fishermen could easily unload their catch close to the fishing grounds.
They owned an onshore facility for storing fish that as filleted, frozen, and packaged in ten-pound boxes. The shipped their inventory in freezer containers to the lower 48 states and the far east.
Our client also smoked and canned small batches of tasty salmon every year which they sold to Alaska tourists and in some stores in the Pacific Northwest.
We financed working capital for several years and approximately 1/2 of the floating fish processing vessel. Read more about our fish finance program.
Italian Food – Texas
Products: gourmet pasta sauces, Tex-Italian flavored salsa.
Distribution: Nationwide through grocers.
Our customer makes gourmet pasta sauces and “Tex-Italian” salsa. They have won numerous awards for their products that primarily use Italian sourced tomatoes, spices and herbs.
We started financing this company when it was very small and changed financing methods several times as the company grew.
When the owner was ready to sell his company, we helped him sell it to a much larger specialty food manufacturer.
Fresh Refrigerated Salsa – Texas
Products: fresh salsa and pico de gallo.
Distribution: Central Texas – regional grocers.
HEB, A highly respected regional grocery store chain liked the freshness of our client’s products and started stocking the product in over 300 stores.
Sales skyrocketed because consumers liked the fresh taste of the uncooked ingredients. We provided some equipment finance and working capital to help the company grow.
Today, the company private labels its product for a nationwide natural grocery store chain.
Cuban Sandwiches – New York
Products: gourmet Cuban sandwiches.
Distribution: Nationwide through Costco and regional grocery store chains.
Our customer was able to get their product featured first in regional Costco stores, then nationwide.
The sandwiches were sold frozen but had a great taste when they were reheated. They captured the flavor of the old style Cuban shaved beef and pepper sandwich.
Business Finance Solutions provided working capital for growth in Costco and other retailers.
Lori Wickard is Business Finance Solution’s food and beverage finance expert.
Lori has 30+ years of business experience managing and running various enterprises. Lori also owned and operated her own personal chef service. Working with food manufacturers and commercial kitchens is a passion.
Lori’s primary role is working with clients to compile the numerous loan package documents necessary to evaluate and submit to a lender.