Food

JC’S Pie Pops Corporate Office

JC’s Pie Pops was founded in 2013 in current CEO Jennifer Constantine’s own kitchen. After accidentally freezing some pie filling, she and her boyfriend discovered that they actually tasted better frozen.

Constantine continued playing with recipes, until she came up with the current “pie on a stick”, which involves a frozen custard or pie filling, surrounded by a crunchy outside layer, similar to a pie crust or topping. The company also makes ice cream and bite sized versions of the pie pop.

JC’s Pie Pops is listed as #136 on the 2017 Inc. 5000 list of America’s Fastest Growing Companies. In 2016, the company had annual revenue of $5.3 million and a three year growth rate of 2,834%. The company also took the #7 spot on the Inc. list of Top Food and Beverage Companies, as well as the #16 spot for Top Los Angeles Companies.

JC's Pie Pops

History

Gluten Free Gem Corporate Office

Gluten Free Gem is a bakery based out of Portland, Oregon. The company started when Anne and Mike Miller discovered that their daughter had celiac disease and was unable to eat gluten. The pair opened their own bakery in 2006.

Due to a growing demand, the company quickly outgrew their original bakery and moved several times over the years. The company moved to its current location, complete with a retail store, in early 2017. The company has also expanded to include offering their products in various stores throughout the greater Portland, Oregon, area.

Gluten Free Gem is a GFCO Certified bakery. This ensures that all products are not only gluten free, but free from any risk of cross contamination from other products or other known allergens, such as peanuts. The company also offers special orders and wedding cakes.

Gluten Free Gem

History

American Kitchen Delights Corporate Office

American Kitchen Delights is a manufacturer of frozen and prepackaged foods based out of Illinois. The company is family owned and operated, with tremendous growth over the past 30 years. Starting with a 3,000 square foot plant in Skokie, Illinois, the company continued to expand, with the latest expansion being an 80,000 square foot facility, complete with office space.

The company provides food products and packing services to a wide range of markets, such as retail grocery store chains and club stores, food service, hospitality, broad liners/distributors, military and travel markets. The company works as a co-packer or as a private label manufacturer, according to clients needs.

American Kitchen Delights is best known for their frozen pizza, but also makes sandwiches, hot, hand held foods, prepared foods, frozen entrees, ethnic specialty foods, appetizers/snacks, baked goods, soups, sauces and dips.

American Kitchen Delights

History

Brazi Bites Corporate Office

Brazi Bites was founded in 2010 in Portland, Oregon, by husband and wife team Cameron and Junea Rocha. Junea, a Brazilian native, was craving Pao de Queijo, a type of cheese bread, which is a popular snack in her native country. Unable to find any in the US, Junea decided to make her own from her mother’s recipe.

The company saw a huge increase in business after appearing on the television reality show Shark Tank in 2015. Within just days after the show aired, the company completely sold out of product. The 2017 Inc. 5000 list places Brazi Bites at #81 on their list of Fastest Growing Companies in America. In 2016, the company saw annual revenue of $8.5 million and a 3 year growth rate of 4,555%.

Brazi Bites also took the #1 position on the Inc. list of Top Portland (Oregon) Companies and #2 for Top Oregon Companies. Brazi Bites is sold in markets and in the frozen food aisles of numerous retailers across the US.

Brazi Bites

History

Chef’s Real Cut Jerky Corporate Office

Chef’s Real Cut Jerky was founded in 2011 by two co-workers, Dennis Riedel and Blair Swiler. The pair would snack on beef jerky that Swiler made at home. They decided to make larger batches and start selling it at the golf course where they worked.

Today, the company is listed as #58 on the 2017 Inc. 5000 list of America’s Fastest Growing Companies. In 2016, the company had annual revenue of $26.9 million and a three year growth rate of 5,669%. The company also took the #4 spot on their list of Top Food and Beverage Companies, as well as the #7 position on the Inc. list of Top New York City Companies.

The company currently sells their products at the snack bars at almost every golf course in the US, as well as other retailers, such as Sam’s Club, Amazon, and 7-11. Swiler says that he has plans to move beyond jerky, but is reluctant to speak about specifics.

Chef's Real Cut Jerky