Edible Garden AG Incorporated, a Belvidere-based leader in controlled environment agriculture (CEA), has reached a new milestone in its national expansion. The company announced on Tuesday that it has engaged Structura Architects, a nationally recognized firm specializing in food and beverage engineering, to design its planned Prairie Hills manufacturing facility in Webster City, Iowa.
The new facility represents a strategic push by the New Jersey company into the clean-label nutrition and ready-to-drink (RTD) beverage market. Leveraging Edible Garden’s “Farm-to-Formula®” platform, the Iowa plant is being designed to house advanced Tetra Pak processing and packaging technologies.
Structura Architects will provide comprehensive facility planning, engineering, and project development services to ensure the Iowa facility meets the high standards required for complex food manufacturing. The firm brings extensive experience in dairy and beverage packaging environments, which the Edible Garden leadership team believes will accelerate project execution.
“We are excited to partner with Structura as we continue advancing the development of our Prairie Hills facility,” Jim Kras, chief executive officer of Edible Garden said. “Their extensive experience in food and beverage facility design and project execution makes them an ideal partner as we move forward with this transformative initiative.”
The Webster City site is designed to be a “world-class manufacturing platform” that balances innovation with sustainability. Key strategic goals for the new facility include:
- Large-Scale Production: Facilitating the manufacturing of shelf-stable nutritional beverages.
- Operational Flexibility: Allowing the company to scale quickly to meet private-label demand and future product category growth.
- Sustainability: Implementing manufacturing processes specifically designed to minimize waste and reduce environmental impact, aligning with Edible Garden’s core corporate values.
Mark Soehnlen, principal at Structura Architects, noted that the firm’s familiarity with Tetra Pak systems makes them uniquely qualified for the build. “Structura has supported the development of numerous food and beverage manufacturing facilities, including multiple facilities incorporating Tetra Pak processing and packaging systems,” Soehnlen said. “Our longstanding experience… positions us well to help Edible Garden execute this important growth initiative.
While headquartered in Belvidere, Edible Garden’s latest move underscores its ambition to influence the national nutrition market. The company, which is publicly traded on the Nasdaq, expects the Iowa facility to significantly improve supply chain efficiencies and provide the necessary infrastructure to support rising consumer demand for high-quality, sustainable wellness products.
