Yogurt Manufacturer Moves to Massachusetts, Adding New Capacity Thanks to $500,000 MassDevelopment Loan and $250,000 Loan Through the Fair Food Fund
June 11, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 617-448-9077 (cell)
kabbruzzese@massdevelopment.com
JD Sethi, DAHlicious, 617-281-1311
jd@dahlicious.com
In response to growing regional and national demand for the company’s Lassi smoothies, DAHlicious, LLC is relocating from Vermont to a 5,000-square-foot facility on Hamilton Street in Leominster. MassDevelopment has recently provided a $500,000 loan to the manufacturer of DAHlicious Lassi smoothies. The company has used the proceeds of the loan to acquire new equipment needed for its brand new facility in Leominster. In addition, the company has also secured a loan for up to $250,000 through the Fair Food Fund to assist the company with expanding its brand awareness and implementing its marketing plan.
DAHlicious expects to more than double its revenue in the next two years and plans to add approximately 12 new jobs. The new facility’s increased manufacturing capacity will also allow DAHlicious to expand further into both domestic and international markets.
“The City of Leominster is proud to host our first-ever yogurt manufacturing company. DAHlicious will become an important part of our expanding food-production industry and we encourage our local grocers and retailers to sell their products,” said Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella. “This company has built a customized facility, invested in our community, and provided many valuable jobs. We welcome DAHlicious to the City of Leominster and look forward to a great partnership together.”
“MassDevelopment is pleased to support the expansion of manufacturers like DAHlicious into the Commonwealth’s Gateway Cities,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones. “With the growth of the local food movement in Massachusetts, consumers can also take pride in buying healthy products from this local company.”
Michigan-based Fair Food Network (FFN) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to building a more just and sustainable food system. In 2012, FFN created the Fair Food Fund to provide financing and business assistance to good food enterprises that connect small and mid-size farms with consumers hungry for local, sustainably grown food. DAHlicious plans to utilize the capital received from Fair Food Fund to invest in additional marketing and promotional activities to improve market penetration of their brand.
“The Fair Food Fund – with a mission of building a sustainable regional food system – is different from traditional lenders that focus primarily on the financial opportunity,” says Alex Linkow, program director of FFN’s Fair Food Fund. “Guided by our mission to improve the food system, Fair Food Fund seeks out opportunities to provide financing to promising, good food businesses that support the long-term viability of family farms while meeting the growing demand for local food. DAHlicious is right on target with their mission and products, and we’re proud to support them in their growth.”
Founded in 2007 by Jaidesh Sethi while pursuing his MBA from Babson College, DAHlicious manufactures DAHlicious Lassi, a smoothie made from Indian-style yogurt and real fruits that contains 15 billion probiotic cultures per bottle. DAHlicious Lassi is sold nationally through various retailers.
“The thought and care we put into our yogurt extends to the vision for our business and we are thrilled to expand and create jobs in one of the Commonwealth’s Gateway Cities,” said Sethi. Thank you to the City of Leominster, MassDevelopment and the Fair Food Fund for their support as we make Massachusetts the new home of DAHlicious.”
MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2014, MassDevelopment financed or managed 314 projects generating investment of more than $2.9 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create more than 6,300 jobs and build or rehabilitate more than 1,600 residential units.