Food Prep Facility Leasing Heats Up In August

While summer may be winding down, leasing announcements have picked up as industrial buildings, including new builds, remain popular.

In this issue, I share a bunch of said lease announcements, notable fundings, and more.

Enjoy!

REAL ESTATE HIGHLIGHTS

DrinkPAK, a manufacturer of canned beverages, expanded in California by leasing Buildings 17 and 18 in The Center at Needham Ranch in Santa Clarita. Located on Needham Ranch Parkway, the buildings are expected to be completed in the fourth quarter and will total approximately 193,490 square feet. The buildings are owned by Clarion Partners and Trammel Crow Company. (source: Costar)

Irwindale Brew Yard expanded by occupying all 184,879 square feet of Building 1 in the Irwindale Industrial Center on Azusa Canyon Road in Irwindale. The California-based batching and brewing company produces alcoholic, non-alcoholic, carbonated and non-carbonated beverages. The building is owned by Overton Moore Properties. (source: Costar)

Asian and Hispanic e-grocer, Weee!, fully occupied the 142,617 square foot distribution center at 13215 Cambridge St., Santa Fe Springs, CA. Founded in 2015, Weee! enables affordable access to groceries around the globe. Prologis owns the warehouse facility which features over 30 loading docks. (source: Costar)

Puratos, a bakery manufacturer and supplier of bakery ingredients, occupied the entire 86,879 square foot warehouse at 15601 S. Avalon Blvd., Gardena, CA. The Class A industrial property is owned by Rexford Industrial Realty and is proximate to Interstate 110 and Compton/Woodley Airport. (source: Costar)

An entity related to developer Goodman North America bought the largest food processing plant in the Southwest US - the former roughly 29-acre Farmer John food processing site - at 3049, 3095, and 3163 E. Vernon Ave. in Vernon for more than $206 million, according to public records and CoStar data. Goodman plans to redevelop the site, according to a statement. This is one of the biggest industrial sales this year in the nation's most desirable industrial market. (source: Costar)

BACK ON THE MARKET

This Oxnard building just fell out of escrow. Renovated in 2022, this 26,331 square foot building also happens to be the best move-in-ready food preparation facility on the SoCal market, and even the U.S. (IMHO).

Available for sale ($7.2M) or lease ($1.25, NNN/SF/MO).

Some highlights:

The property features 22-ft clear height interior space, two ground-level and one dock-high loading doors, and 2,000 amps of 277/480 volt, 3-phase electrical service. The interior space consists of approximately 22,000 square feet of production space, including over 9,000 square feet of cold storage/freezer space, as well as 4,500 square feet of two-story office space.

Let me know if you’d like more information or a tour: 424.241.4795 / [email protected]

NOTABLE FUNDINGS

Foraged, a Washington, DC-based marketplace for wild and specialty foods, raised $2.7M in Seed funding. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners with participation from Yelp co-founder and CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, StubHub co-founder Eric Baker, Shopify President Harley Finkelstein, and Fiverr founder and CEO Micha Kaufman. The company intends to use the funds to enhance its suite of tools and features to deliver an imrpoved platform for buyers and sellers alike in the online marketplace. (source: FinSMEs)

Nona Lim, a producer of noodles, broths and stir-fry kits, has secured funding from JPalmer Collective to develop new products and expand retail distribution. An asset-based lending company, JPalmer Collective launched earlier this year and focuses on funding women-led natural products companies. Nona Lim marks its first deal. (source: Food Business News)

Meatable raises $35M as it aims to boost production and lower costs. The Netherlands-based cultivated meat company plans to enter retailers and restaurants in Singapore starting in 2024, while looking into other markets such as the U.S. in the future. The latest round was led by U.K. biotech venture capital firm Agronomics and brings the Netherlands-based company’s total funding to $95 million. (source: Food Dive)

Konscious Foods, a plant-based seafood startup, has raised $26 million in seed funding to expand its retail and foodservice businesses, support operations at its new 34,000 square foot Richmond, British Columbia-based production facility, and launch marketing initiatives. Investors include Protein Industries Canada, Zynik Capital and Walter Group, among others. The brand debuted earlier this year with a line of frozen sushi rolls, onigri stuffed rice snacks and poke bowls made from plants. Formulations include ingredients such as konjac plant, pea fiber and organic red quinoa. The products are available across the United States and Canada at retailers including Whole Foods Market and Sprouts Farmers Market. The brand is slated to grow to more than 4,500 stores by the end of the year. (source: Food Business News)

Los Angeles-based Erewhon Market made an equity investment in Zuma Valley, a consumer packaged goods brand that makes coconut products featured in the grocer’s celebrity-backed smoothies. Erewhon was Zuma Valley's first customer back in 2015, when the high-end grocer had only a single store. (source: Winsight Grocery Business)

ACQUISITIONS

Seviroli Foods, a US manufacturer, has acquired fellow pasta maker Mama Rosie’s for an undisclosed sum. New York State-based Seviroli, which manufactures frozen-filled pasta, as well as sauces and Italian desserts, has taken over Boston area-headquartered Mama Rosie’s, which also makes frozen pasta products. (source: Just Food)

WHAT I’M CONSUMING (AND ENJOYING!)

🍕🧁 The Pizza Cupcake?! Apparently, this five-year-old Shark Tank company (Lori Grenier invested) has all sorts of fans. I enjoyed this interview with the founders, who also happen to be married. I’m looking forward to trying it!

🍄 Did you know: In nature, over 90% of the fungi’s total biomass is contained in the underground mycelium, making it inaccessible? Possibly more than you’ve ever wanted to know about mushroom innovation.

Thanks for reading.

If you have any feedback or suggestions, we’d love to hear them.

Also, we’d like to try a new thing… if you’d like your office and/or manufacturing space or business profiled, let me know. It’s always fun to explore and share the many different components of the food & beverage industry.

And, as always, I’m here to help with your real estate needs. Feel free to pop on my calendar: https://calendly.com/erik-crea

Erik Stiebel
Founder and Vice President
CA DRE License #02080746
(c) +1 424.241.4795
[email protected]