By Russell Redman BakingBusiness.Com
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Canadian better-for-you bread baker Vibrant Health Products Inc. is slated to open its first US manufacturing facility in Rossville, Tenn., the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) said.
Plans call for Abbotsford, BC-based Vibrant to invest $48.5 million over the next five years in the former Kellogg’s Eggo facility in Rossville, which Kellogg Co. spinoff Kellanova closed in 2024. TNECD said Vibrant will start bread production operations for its US customers at the site and then ramp up manufacturing capacity for additional products as the project progresses.
Founded in 1989, Vibrant makes sprouted and certified organic, gluten-free, grain-free, plant-based, paleo and keto bread, baked food and baking products for its own brands as well as private label partners. The family-owned specialty baker’s consumer brand roster includes Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery, Little Northern Bakehouse, The Grain Escape, Carbonaut Baking and One Degree Organics Foods. Offerings include sliced bread, buns, bagels, pizza crusts, pizza, tortillas, baking mixes, granola, cereal (ready-to-eat and oatmeal), flour, seeds and lentils.
Vibrant’s more than 180,000-square-foot bakery in Abbotsford offers sprouted and non-sprouted baking and flour milling capabilities and includes a certified gluten-free bakery, large freezing and storage areas, and a research-and-development lab run by its team of food scientists. On the private brand side, the company serves mainstream, club and natural retailers across Canada and the United States.
“With a focus on growth, adding a US facility gives us the space and flexibility we need to ride momentum into a strong future,” said Stan Smith, president and co-founder of Vibrant Health Products. “Expanding on our Canadian operations, our new bakery in Tennessee will help us increase production so we can welcome new customers and sustain strategic relationships, explore new possibilities for innovation, broaden our business in new product categories, create stable jobs on both sides of the border and pursue every opportunity to share our healthier products with the world.”
Vibrant’s new Rossville plant is expected to provide 394 new jobs, according to TNECD. The department noted that Canada is the state’s No. 3 partner for foreign direct investment, with Canadian companies investing roughly $1.7 billion and creating about 3,800 jobs statewide.
“It is no surprise that Vibrant Health Products is locating its first US manufacturing facility in Fayette County, as Tennessee has been described as a food and beverage powerhouse, with nearly 800 companies statewide that generated more than $1.6 billion in exports in 2024 alone,” said Stuart McWhorter, commissioner of TNECD. “I thank Vibrant Health Products for its commitment to our state and bringing new business into the former Kellogg’s facility and look forward to seeing the growth and success that follows today’s announcement.”