Refrigerated and frozen all natural soups processorKettle Cuisine, Chelsea, Mass., said it entered into a business partnership withArlon Food and Agriculture Investment Program, New York, N.Y., to advance company growth.

Terms were not disclosed. CEO and founder Jerry Shafir said he will maintain a significant ownership in the company and continue in his role.

“Our partnership with Arlon will provide us the financial resources and business insights we need to expand our products and services on a larger national scale, all while maintaining our commitment to cooking and delivering premium quality, all natural soups,” said Shafir.  “With our expansion into new markets, we believe this is the perfect time to bolster our resources and further enhance service offerings to our customers.”
 
Shafir noted that Kettle Cuisine is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this fall.

“We’re excited to partner with Kettle Cuisine because we believe in their products and philosophies and we see that they are well-aligned with current operator and consumer demands,” said Michelle Brooks, a managing principal at Arlon. “We look forward to working closely with Jerry and his experienced management team to expand the Kettle Cuisine business for the long-term. We’re joining their organization at a key growth time and it’s a wonderful example of our mission to seek out and invest in high-potential natural food purveyors.”

Starting with just seven core soups for the New England foodservice market, Kettle Cuisine said it now produces more than 50 foodservice varieties and 10 consumer varieties for distribution throughout the United States and Canada.