Dell Cove Spices & More Co., a gourmet popcorn and popcorn seasoning business, announced plans to move its operations from Chicago to northeast Indiana, creating up to 50 new jobs in Allen County by the end of 2024.
"Indiana's entrepreneurial community is supportive, innovative and growing,” said Interim Indiana Secretary of Commerce Jim Staton. “With their persistence and entrepreneurial spirit, small businesses like Dell Cove Spices & More continue to drive Indiana’s economy forward and create more career opportunities for Hoosiers.”
Dell Cove will invest $233,000 to lease a 7,000-square-foot commercial space at 1221 Hartzell St. in New Haven. With its investment, the company plans to purchase and install warehouse and computer equipment and photography studio supplies, labeling equipment and a laser-etching machine to customize glass jars. This expansion will allow the company to expand its popcorn product lines and better meet the needs of consumers and retailers.
"This move made sense both for business and personal reasons,” said Dell Cove co-founder David Beets. “I grew up in Fort Wayne and still have friends and family here. Every time I would come back here to visit, this whole area seemed to keep growing and growing – and we wanted to be part of that growth. It felt like a perfect time to come home.”
Dell Cove is owned and operated by Hoosier native Beets and his wife Patricia. The co-owners plan to scale their team and operations in New Haven and will begin hiring for sales, warehousing and shipping positions this fall. Interested applicants may request a job application via email.
Founded in 2010, Dell Cove Spices & More Co.® uses certified-organic spices, sugars and sea salts to produce gourmet and gluten-free popcorn seasonings and works with farmers across the Midwest to sustainably grow different popcorn varieties for unique food gift sets. The company recently launched a line of digital products, enabling consumers, retail and event coordinators to host popcorn bars and stations at home and during special events.
“We are proud to welcome Dell Cove to our community,” said New Haven Mayor Steve McMichael. “We have worked very hard to make New Haven an outstanding place to live, work, play and run a business, and we look forward to working with the Dell Cove team for years to come.”
Also made possible through the relocation to Indiana is the company's new recycling program, which it plans to launch this summer in conjunction with a local biofuel company. Through this program, recycled packaging will be converted into an ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel that can be used by farmers to run their tractors and other farm equipment.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Dell Cove Spices & More Co.® up to $255,000 in conditional tax credits based on the company’s job creation plans. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning the company is eligible to claim incentives once Hoosiers are hired. Northeast Indiana Works supports the project.
Indiana is home to more than 512,000 small businesses like Dell Cove that employ over 1.2 million Hoosiers. The state received an ‘A+’ grade for ease of starting a business (Thumbtack 2019) and ranks No. 1 in the Midwest and No. 6 in the nation for entrepreneur friendliness (SBE Council 2019).