Feb. 10, 2021
Black River Valley Natural is a small-batch value-added processor crafting artisanal foods from locally sourced ingredients produced by farmers. At their facility in Lyons Falls on the shore of the Black River and at the site of the old Lyons Falls Pulp Paper Mill, they are processing hundreds of gallons of local milk each week. Black River Valley Natural bottle cream line milk, churn butter and flavored butter, culture yogurt, and make fresh cheeses. They are operating as The North Star Food Hub which is their sister company founded in 2019 that also shares this large facility. Chartered with the mission of supporting a growing number of North Country growers and producers, they provide an online sales platform and cold-chain wholesale distribution to regional restaurants, grocery stores, food retailers, schools, and other institutions. We have also recently launched a direct-to-consumer channel with a home delivery option that has been quite successful in the current environment and we expect strong growth in this area, especially as we begin accepting SNAP/EBT dollars this year.
"We have seen 150% CAGR since our founding in 2018 and we are hoping to work with Point Positive to keep this momentum going and significantly expand the business over the next 3 to 5 years. With the additional capital investment, we plan to add a certified shared-use commercial kitchen and expand our dairy processing capabilities in order to significantly expand our product line and co-production capacity. We also plan to launch a retail storefront and bistro to capture maximum margin for our products as well as other premium high margin local foods and CPGs. Although we plan to continue to grow our wholesale business through our grocery, food-service, and institutional buyers, additional capital investment will also allow us to significantly increase our higher-margin direct-to-consumer reach through the deployment of our that will deliver our products to established drop-off locations throughout the North Country. These locations will be a rich mix of large area employers as well as locations with a high concentration of SNAP/EBT dollars such as assisted living facilities, low-income housing areas, and regional food deserts." James Munn, General Manager
After the presentation, a brief closed-door investor discussion took place. Post-meeting, the investors will now complete a pitch evaluation sheet about the company. If the evaluations are favorable, Point Positive will subsequently conduct an in-depth due diligence review of the company's proposal and projected use of funds. If the outcome of that review is favorable, a deal will be structured, and all of the Point Positive members/investors will have the chance to participate on an individual basis in the deal. Decisions to invest or not are up to the member investors. The time commitment is tailored to preference – members can lead, mentor, advise, or just monitor and invest on an individual basis.
