Cardinal Foods to invest $26M expanding facility in Burgaw

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A Burgaw company plans to expand its facilities and services in Pender County by investing more than $26 million and creating nearly 50 jobs as part of the project.

Founded in Burgaw in 2017, Cardinal Foods processes blueberries, sweet potatoes and butternut squash harvested primarily by North Carolina farmers. The company also provides product development, marketing, and distribution services.

Its foods are sold to both national consumer brands and leading grocery retailers.

“The significant expansion of Cardinal Foods is good for farmers and workers in Pender and other eastern North Carolina counties. Companies that expand here in this way highlight our state’s ability to compete in the global economy,” said Governor Roy Cooper.

According to a news release from Wilmington Business Development, an additional 56,000-sq.-ft. of food grade processing will be added to Cardinal Foods’ existing facility at 201 Progress Drive in Burgaw.

“This investment will enable Cardinal to be one of the largest sweet potato fry manufacturers in the world,” said Cardinal Foods President & CEO Corey Barnhill. “Due to a lack of processing capacity regionally, a large majority of fruits and vegetables travel outside of North Carolina — as far away as Idaho and Canada — to be processed. This expansion represents an enormous competitive advantage that will place Cardinal in a great spot for future growth.”

WBD said the expansion will house raw material receiving equipment to accommodate the increased capacity of sweet potatoes and butternut squash. Raw material is then steam peeled, diced, sorted, and prepared for further processing.

An additional key processing step involves a batter and frying application, which will be used to produce numerous SKUs of sweet potato fries and other vegetable products. The fries will be packaged in many different sizes for shipment to retail customers, restaurants and food service operations around the world.

“Burgaw offers a logistical advantage with its proximity to both major interstates I-40 & I-95 as well as the Port of Wilmington,” said Pender County Commission Chairman George Brown. “We welcome Cardinal Foods’ continued investment in Pender County, further capitalizing on the opportunities available to our region on the agribusiness import and export side.”

Burgaw Mayor Pete Cowan echoed his enthusiasm towards the project. “Given the challenges related to the pandemic, to have a project of this magnitude coming to fruition in Burgaw says all the right things about establishing and growing business here,” said Cowan.

Cardinal Foods will receive a state and local economic development incentive package to help facilitate the investment in Pender County. The average salary of these jobs is $38,458, which is above Pender County’s overall average of roughly $33,000. These investments are to be made over a three-year period.

“Cardinal Foods is a home-grown company connecting North Carolina farmers to quality-minded consumers around the world,” said North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Sanders. “The company’s success demonstrates how our state’s productive soils and productive people create a global competitive edge for value-added agribusiness operations.”

WBD said it played a critical role in the support of this project, including but not limited to incentive negotiation. “We are very grateful for our partners at the Town of Burgaw, Pender County and the State of North Carolina for their support of this project,” said Scott Satterfield, CEO of WBD. “Manufacturing — including value-added food processing — is a priority for our region. So, when we see a proven, existing industry ready to expand here on this scale, we are eager to do everything we can to support it.”

The North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) recently approved a $350,000 grant to support this building expansion in Burgaw.