Sweet Deal for Leominster Bakery
Bisousweet Confections, LLC Thrives in New Facility in Leominster with Help of $1,250,000 Loan from MassDevelopment, Creating Jobs & Increasing Sales
June 07, 2023
Matthew Mogavero, 857-248-0868
mmogavero@massdevelopment.com
Karen Collins, Bisousweet Confections
978-425-5627
LEOMINSTER, Mass. – MassDevelopment has provided a $1,250,000 loan to Bisousweet Confections, LLC to renovate and buy equipment for its new facility at 554 Willard St. in Leominster, where the company relocated in October 2022. The new 20,000-square-foot facility is four times the size of its previous location in Shirley, providing needed space for the company to expand operations amid a tripling of sales between 2019 and 2022. Bisousweet has added 20 jobs since its move – surpassing its goal of 15 – and is committed to creating a total of 50 full-time jobs over the next five years.
“Bisousweet’s baked goods have become popular products in grocery stores across the nation, and we are pleased that our flexible financing was able to help this certified woman-owned business move into a larger building in Leominster and create jobs,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Dan Rivera. “MassDevelopment is pleased to work with wholesalers and manufacturers looking to expand operations or upgrade facilities here in Massachusetts.”
“We are so pleased to welcome Bisousweet to Leominster,” said Leominster Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella. “They are a family-owned company that prides themselves on community involvement and a great product. Thanks to MassDevelopment, the City of Leominster has gained another great business to help boost our economy and create local jobs.”
Bisousweet Confections was founded by self-taught pastry chef Karen Collins and started selling wholesale products in 2009. The company handcrafts a variety of all natural, innovative baked goods such as Doughnut Muffins, uniquely soft biscotti, specialty cookies, and whoopie pies. Bisousweet's products are distributed across the country and are available at specialty retailers and grocery stores such as Whole Foods, Big Y, The Fresh Market, Wegmans, Roche Brothers, Market Basket, and Shaw's/Star Market.
Bisousweet’s former and current facilities are both owned by The Lexvest Group, who used MassDevelopment financing to buy or improve the properties. From 2014-2022, Bisousweet was located in 5,000 square feet of space at Phoenix Park in Shirley; in 2000 and 2005, The Lexvest Group used two loans from MassDevelopment to finance renovations and improvements to that business park. Bisousweet’s new facility, at 554 Willard St. in Leominster, was bought by The Lexvest Group in November 2021 using a loan from MassDevelopment.
“We were thrilled to work on our expansion project with MassDevelopment,” said Bisousweet Confections Founder and CEO Karen Collins. “They were the perfect fit for our company and were supportive, encouraging, and helpful throughout the entire process, from the beginning of the application procedure, meeting with us during the build-out phase, and finally visiting us once we relocated to see our company manufacturing. MassDevelopment was pivotal in our expansion, and we look forward to working with them in the future.”
MassDevelopment, the state’s development finance agency and land bank, works with businesses, nonprofits, banks, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2022, MassDevelopment financed or managed 356 projects generating investment of more than $1.69 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are estimated to create or support 11,080 jobs and build or preserve 1,778 housing units.