ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Advantage Capital Agribusiness Partners, LC (ACAP) announced today a $2-million investment in Hip Chick Farms, which offers a line of organic and fully cooked frozen poultry entrées. The investment comes at a time of growth for Hip Chick Farms, supporting its release of new products as the company begins to supply to large retailers Target and Kroger.
“Hip Chick Farms is setting a new standard for products in the frozen food aisle,” said Tyler Mayoras, principal at Advantage Capital. “The company uses whole pieces of chicken – no fillers or starches to extend the product. This is a company that is changing the marketplace and proving that frozen food can be both healthful and tasty.”
Inspired by positive reviews and strong demand for Jennifer Johnson’s good-for-you recipes, Johnson and Serafina Palandech launched Sebastol, California-based Hip Chick Farms in 2013. The company had then, as it does now, a passion for using fresh, sustainable and locally sourced ingredients.
“Every kid across America deserves access to delicious, healthful foods, and it is our mission to make it easier for busy parents to provide it,” said Palandech. “By not using artificial ingredients and maintaining freshness through our freezing process, we believe our food tastes as if you cooked it in your kitchen yourself.”
Hip Chick Farms cooks with chickens that are raised without antibiotic and fed a non-GMO, plant-based diet. The company has been able to mark five of its eight products as organic, with plans to increase that number within the next year. All of its products use whole muscle meat without fillers.
“We created the Rural Business Investment Company as a way to inspire innovation and investment in rural America, and it is encouraging to see it doing just that,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “Matching private investors with businesses in rural communities helps companies get the capital they need to grow and create jobs.”
ACAP is a $154.5 million fund that is licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC). The fund is a partnership between Advantage Capital and nine Farm Credit organizations, established to bring together resources and people focused on providing more private capital, small business investment and quality jobs to rural America. Farm Credit supports rural communities and agriculture with reliable, consistent access to credit and financial services.
About Advantage Capital Agribusiness Partners, LP (ACAP)
Advantage Capital Agribusiness Partners, LP (ACAP) is a $154.5 million fund that is licensed as a Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC) by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which focuses on businesses involved in the production, processing and supply of agricultural products. It is a partnership between Advantage Capital Partners and nine Farm Credit organizations: AgCountry Farm Credit Services (Fargo, N.D.); AgStar Financial Services (Mankato, Minn.); AgriBank (St. Paul, Minn.); Capital Farm Credit (Bryan, Texas); CoBank (Denver, Colo.); Farm Credit Bank of Texas (Austin, Texas); Farm Credit Services of America (Omaha, Neb.); Farm Credit Services of Mid-America (Louisville, Ky.); and United FCS (Willmar, Minn.).
About Farm Credit
Farm Credit supports rural communities and agriculture with reliable, consistent credit and financial services, today and tomorrow. Farm Credit has been fulfilling its mission of helping these areas grow and thrive for a century by providing farmers, ranchers and others in rural America with the capital they need to make their businesses successful and by financing vital infrastructure and communication services. Because a steady flow of capital means more jobs and economic growth, Farm Credit is able to invest in the vibrancy of communities throughout rural America. For more information about Farm Credit, visit www.farmcreditnetwork.com.
About Hip Chick Farms
Bay Area-based Hip Chick Farms is an organic, frozen poultry product company founded by entrepreneurs Serafina Palandech and Jennifer Johnson, former sous chef at Chez Panisse. In 2015, the partners were named "Most Innovative Women in Food" by FOOD & WINE Magazine and FORTUNE Magazine. Hip Chick Farms is distributed widely through Whole Foods, Sprouts, Target and multiple grocery stores across the U.S. and products include gluten-free chicken nuggets and chicken meatballs, among many others. For more information about Hip Chick Farms, visit www.hipchickfarms.com.
Advantage Capital is an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The information in this release is not intended to be an advertisement concerning investment advisory services or an offer to buy or sell securities of any type. Only accredited investors within the meaning of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933 (Reg. D) will be permitted to review offering materials or subscribe for interests in private funds referenced in documents prepared by Advantage Capital. In order to qualify as accredited investors, individuals and institutions must provide certain information and satisfy the criteria of Rule 506(c) under Reg. D. Advantage Capital has not admitted any new investors to Advantage Capital Agribusiness Partners since the fund closed in 2014 and has no intent to open the fund to new investors during the life of the fund. Advantage Capital is an equal opportunity provider.