Member News & Headlines Blog

SSEGI Announces Food Co-Packing Expansion Opportunity in Chicagoland for Co-Manufacturers and Food Businesses

The South Suburban Economic Growth Initiative (SSEGI) announces a food co-packing expansion opportunity in Chicago’s South Suburbs. SSEGI has partnered with New Food Strategies (NFS) to design and launch a food processing innovation park, leveraging NFS’s experience working with early-stage and mid-size food companies. The development group is seeking an anchor tenant for this multi-use facility that is strategically located near a skilled talent pool with excellent transportation access.

Attractive financing and lease rates are available for this built-to-suit facility. The park will incorporate various business support services to tenants, including shared logistics, warehousing and other costs. Local partners will design and deliver training programs targeted at food processing.

“This new facility will have the spaces and services firms need to innovate and test cutting-edge products and technologies,” said John Geocaris, Founder and Managing Director of New Food Strategies.

“The South Suburbs are primed for growth,” said Kristi DeLaurentiis, Executive Director of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association (SSMMA, a lead partner in SSEGI). “The area is coming together, pooling our resources and collaborating to support strategic development. We’re seeing new investments and bringing new resources to the table to get deals done.”

To learn more about this exceptional opportunity, please contact John Geocaris at jgeocaris@newfoodstrategies.com or Matt Schuneman at matt@rw-ventures.com.

About the South Suburban Economic Growth Initiative (SSEGI)

SSEGI is a comprehensive effort to transform Chicago’s South Suburbs, reestablishing them as prosperous communities. Launched in 2017 by a cross-sector leadership group, SSEGI is implementing inclusive programs through a network of businesses, economic developers, service providers and municipalities. To learn more, contact Jay Readey at jay@rw-ventures.com.

About New Food Strategies

Founded by John Geocaris, an accomplished food industry executive who led his own food startup to over $250 million in sales, New Food Strategies helps early-stage and mid-size food companies navigate the environment of fast growth. With years of experience effectively managing facilities, supply chains, organizational development and production in various high-growth situations, New Food Strategies knows how to balance the critical decisions of today with a company’s vision for months and years from now. To learn more visit https://www.newfoodstrategies.com/.

Consumers want to know as much detail as they can about what they’re eating and drinking. That’s a hugely important factor to remember when investing in the food and beverage markets these days. Click here to read more!

How are natural products performing across the industry? Download SPINS’ first-ever State of the Natural Industry Report for an overview of natural products' performance and market share across the grocery landscape, revealing growth by retail channel, region and key categories, featuring top macro trends and today’s natural consumer. Click here to access the report!

When it comes to the chicken sandwich war between Popeyes and Chick-fil-A, investors should buy the hand that feeds them both: Tyson Foods.

That’s CNBC’s Jim Cramer’s take on the viral clash on Twitter in recent weeks where users pit the two fast food chains against one another. Both restaurants turned to the social media platform to promote their respective sandwiches, which resulted in millions of free advertisement for both companies.

“When you see all these people lined up outside Popeye’s waiting for a bite of their terrific new chicken sandwich, you should buy the biggest arms dealer in chicken world ... Tyson Foods,” the “Mad Money” host said. “Whether Chick-fil-A or Popeyes wins the chicken wars, Tyson will always come out ahead.”

Read this full article from CNBC here

GlobalTranz Enterprises, Inc., a leading technology and third-party logistics solutions company providing award-winning Transportation Management System (TMS) products to shippers, logistics service providers and carriers today announced that the company has been named one of “10 Best Logistics Tech Solutions Providers” by Insights Success.

GlobalTranz was selected due to the company’s unique combination of technology leadership, innovative solutions, analytical capability, and customer service. Additionally, their Managed Transportation Services (MTS), which enable customers to utilize GlobalTranz’s experts as an extension of their supply chain team, inspired judges to rank the company among the best of the best.

Read the full article here

Demand for low-cal, low-carb and low sugar drinks has been a catalyst for the growth of the sparkling water segment. Riding the coattails of that explosion comes spiked sparkling water (aka hard seltzer) because the perception is that sparkling clears are better for you. This segment is less than a decade old, with the first brand (initially bearing the moniker SpikedSeltzer, but since rebranded to Bon & Viv) launching in 2012, before being acquired by AB InBev in 2016. Since then, while there are a few market leaders – White Claw (sales were just under $200m in 2018), Truly ($131m in 2018) and brands backed by Fortune 500...

Read the full article here

Individuals are challenged daily to balance work, home and recreation, which is why it’s normal to feel distracted, unmotivated or too tired to concentrate at times. Many consumers wish to improve focus and mental clarity to better manage everyday tasks but staying sharp and maintaining brain function throughout our lifetimes is also a significant concern because of increased awareness about diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s.

According to the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), the importance of cognitive health has grown more than 20% among American consumers since 2005 and is a top concern for adults.

Read the full article from our member Imbibe here