< Previous28 JANUARY 2025 SITE SELECTION VALUE-ADDED AGRICULTURE Fava beans grown in Saskatchewan Photos courtesy of Three Farmers Foods SITE SELECTION JANUARY 2025 29 Snack and The Beanstalk How a daring idea became a successful food business. M y fi rst lesson in value-added agriculture came from, of all people, the restaurateur turned politician Lester Maddox, the last segregationist governor of my native Georgia. Around , Gov. Maddox opened a speech to my mother’s women’s club with a story of how — as a precocious youngster — he would purchase peanuts by the bushel, haul them home to roast, then hawk them on the street during the evening rush at a cozy, little profi t. So simple. Canadian entrepreneur Natasha Vandenhurk recently schooled me as to how that premise still holds true, even where the process is dramatically more complex. Vandenhurk is co-founder and CEO of ree Farmers Foods in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. ree Farmers converts lentils, chickpeas and fava beans — all grown in Saskatchewan and Manitoba — into tasty, nutritious and increasingly ubiquitous snack packages. Wait. Beans as treats? “It’s not like people wake up in the morning and think, ‘Hey, I’m gonna go snack on beans today,’” Vandenhurk told Site Selection in late November. “We’re building a category, and there’s a lot of work involved in that.” Late Night Inspiration Was the Start It began with a night of drinking at a Saskatoon curling rink. e brain trust consisted of Natasha, her sister Elysia — a chef — their father Dan and two of his farmer buddies. Hence, the name “ ree Farmers.” Unlike many such epiphanies, the ideas hatched at the rink that night survived the searing light of morning. “Here in Saskatchewan,” relates Natasha, “we’re used to just selling our products off as commodities and then buying them back in the grocery store, or or times more expensive. It’s everybody’s dream to move up that value chain and add value here at home.” Nearly years since launching, ree Farmers has survived numerous storms, not least the widespread shift toward “comfort food” eating during the COVID- pandemic. Still, the business has thrived, having recently expanded its distribution chain to Costco stores in the U.S. Pacifi c Northwest, commercial airline fl ights and markets as far abroad as Singapore, Japan and Taiwan. ree Farmers’ -plus off erings include such delights as Barbeque Roasted Lentils, Sea Salt Lime Roasted Chickpeas, Sweet Chili by GARY DAUGHTERS gary.daughters@siteselection.com e values that were instilled in us growing up on a farm are helping to keep us going and making us successful here.” — Natasha Vandenhurk , CEO, Three Farmers Foods at home.” e values that were here at home.”30 JANUARY 2025 SITE SELECTION Roasted Fava Beans, Sea Salt & Vinegar Roasted Lentils, Zesty Cheddar Roasted Fava Beans and its award-winning Dark Chocolate Roasted Chickpeas. Having achieved pre-COVID, pre-inflation growth of up to 60% year on year, Three Farmers remains in expansion mode, having recently completed a $6 million buildout of its Saskatoon headquarters to claim 100% control of its production processes. Its headcount doubled to 35 full-timers. “Most brands, especially new brands these days, save their capital for brand and market development and choose not to get into manufacturing,” Vandenhurk says. “For us, it’s been a massive undertaking and it’s taken us basically 18 months to come up for air and find our cadence. But we think it’s a worthwhile investment as more volume keeps coming through the door. We’ve managed to bring all the roasting, seasoning and packaging under one roof.” Pulses & Impulses Natasha grew up on her father’s 15,000-acre farm and has a degree in business economics from the University of Saskatchewan. Those parallel sets of knowledge inform Three Farmers’ approach to nurturing pulses — the edible seeds of legumes — into a snack that returns nearly 20 times the value of raw commodity price. The company’s air-popping process delivers a healthier snack than frying without surrendering flavor. Its annual volume approaches 700 tons of product. “Pulses in North America have traditionally been seen as inconvenient to eat because of all the soaking, rinsing and cooking they take,” Vandenhurk explains. “For us, the value add is to take these inherently nutritious crops and make them tasty, more convenient and accessible to consumers.” Other legs to the value-added stool, says Natasha, include sustainability, “radical transparency” and packaging. Three Farmers sources its fava beans directly from regional growers and its lentils and chickpeas from wholesalers in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, where sustainable farming practices — from direct seeding to intercropping and organic pest management — are long-since ingrained. Pulses, she says, seed the soil with needed nitrogen. These and other messages the company seeks to deliver through its online presence and its packaging strategy, which is about to undergo a second, recent evolution. “As the market changes and as we scale to reach more mainstream consumers, packaging becomes even more crucial,” she says. “It really needs to connect with consumers so that you get that impulse purchase off the shelf.” Built on Grit The vagaries of the food business, Vandenhurk has learned, are not for the faint of heart. “I just woke up,” she says, “and learned that the U.S. is about to impose a 25% tariff on my product.” But if there’s anything she’s learned it’s to roll with the punches, something fundamental to those who are raised on farms. “I would say the key to our success is honestly just the work ethic that comes with growing up on a farm and the absolute grit and determination it requires,” she says. “The parallels I would draw between farming and this value-added business we’ve created is just dealing with constant unknowns and factors out of your control every single day. So, you learn to just control the things that you can, plan for the best and prepare for the worst, especially in an environment like we’re in today. So, yeah, the values that were instilled in us growing up on a farm are helping to keep us going and making us successful here.” Three Farmers moves production in-house. SITE SELECTION JANUARY 2025 31 I I nterstates get a bum rap. Author William Least Heat-Moon said to leave them and take the blue highways instead. But when I was growing up in Moon’s home territory in Kansas City, the four- hour drive on I- to my birth region of Greater St. Louis was familiar and familial. Missouri’s miles of I- were the most direct route, after all, to two grandmas, two grandpas and that A&W at the Warrenton exit where they set the tray on your rolled-down window and the root beer fl oats were astounding. Little did I know the same highway was actually , miles long (Baltimore to Utah). I didn’t know that it wasn’t always like this … the fi nal section wasn’t fi nished until in Glenwood Canyon, Colorado. And I certainly didn’t know that the very fi rst section of I- was originally constructed in Missouri in the St. Louis-area territory of St. Charles County, where ground was broken in August . “However, being the fi rst also makes it the oldest,” said the Missouri Department of Transportation in an October release celebrating the ribbon-cutting for the newly completed $ million Cave Springs to Fairgrounds design-build project in St. Charles County that includes two reconstructed by ADAM BRUNS adam.bruns@siteselection.com INTERSTATE CORRIDORS The lifespan of Missouri’s stretch of I-70 includes the 1964 photo above left showing the Kansas City, Missouri, central business district served by the inner loop section of I-70 then still under construction and a new improvement project that opened 60 years later in St. Charles County near St. Louis. Photos courtesy of FHWA and Missouri DOT Snapshots of the I-70 Corridor To Grandmother’s House We Go32 JANUARY 2025 SITE SELECTION interchanges, a new overpass and a new outer road at one interchange, among other improvements. Missouri’s FY2024 budget provided $2.8 billion in general revenue for the costs to plan, design, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate and repair three lanes in each direction on nearly 200 miles of I-70 from Blue Springs in the Kansas City area to Wentzville on the approach to the St. Louis metro. It’s one of a number of big projects along the entire national Interstate, including upgrades by the Colorado DOT to the Eisenhower Johnson Memorial Tunnel that crosses the Continental Divide at over 11,100 feet in altitude about 60 miles west of Denver and the massive $700 million I-70 Floyd Hill Project that will improve eight miles of the I-70 Mountain Corridor from west of Evergreen, Colorado, to eastern Idaho Springs. The Colorado DOT notes that the Mountain Corridor “acts as an economic gateway for the state of Colorado and the nation. Home to long-time residents, dozens of large and small businesses and tourism traffic, this section of I-70 is in desperate need of improvements. CDOT spent several years studying the corridor, meeting with residents, stakeholders and community leaders, and drafting potential solutions for this corridor whose aging infrastructure is long overdue for replacement.” Construction began in July 2023 and will continue until late 2028. Back in Missouri, completion of the corridor project is anticipated by the end of 2030, said the Missouri DOT, noting the corridor’s importance as an economic engine. It’s no Hyperloop — the touted superfast transit system founded and then mothballed by Elon Musk that was going to reduce Kansas City-to-St. Louis to a 30-minute trip. But if you went that fast, there’d be no time for a root beer stop. The $700 million I-70 Floyd Hill Project will improve eight miles of the I-70 Mountain Corridor in Colorado. Photo courtesy of Colorado DOT A 1963 photo of I-70 in Kansas approaches the level of fine art. I-70 projects in Kansas include a viaduct replacement in the state capital of Topeka and five miles of pavement replacement in Junction City, among others. Photo courtesy of Kansas DOTSITE SELECTORS SURVEY Georgia claims top spot in annual consultants’ poll, followed by the Carolinas. WHY SITE SELECTORS LOVE THE SOUTH eorgia On My Mind” may be the offi cial state song of the Peach State, but it might as well be the anthem of site selection consultants. In our annual Site Selectors Survey, the Peach State wracked up the most votes to dethrone last year’s winner, Texas, for Best Business Climate in the nation. North Carolina fi nished just “G by RON STARNER ron.starner@siteselection.combehind Georgia in the runner-up spot, followed by South Carolina in third and then Tennessee and Texas in a tie for fourth. e rest of the top , in order, are Virginia in sixth place; Alabama, Mississippi and Ohio tied for seventh; and Indiana in th. If you want to know what infl uences the thinking of site selectors and why they tend to favor Southern states, it pays to know the location factors that they value the most. We asked site selectors this question: “In your opinion, what are the three most important elements of a state business climate?” ey responded that workforce, state and local tax policy, and cost of living are paramount. Ranking just behind these factors are incentives, quality of life and worker training programs. A total of site selectors participated in this year’s survey. Our annual questionnaire asked them to share their views on everything from their favorite business climates to how they value access to innovation hubs and the importance of power availability. Other Key Findings: • When asked to name the state that they feel has the worst business climate, nearly half () said California. Next highest on the list was New Jersey with four votes. • South Carolina garnered the most votes for the state they believe has the best manufacturing workforce in America. Ohio and Michigan tied for second. • When asked, “If you were running a company and needed to fi nd a new home for the corporate headquarters, list three cities you would place on your short list,” Dallas received the most support, followed by Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville and Raleigh. Austin, Chicago, Richmond, Memphis, Phoenix and San Diego were next. • Mexico received the most support for best country ripe for new investment right now, beating out the U.S. by one vote. Last year, the U.S. fi nished fi rst, just ahead of its southern neighbor. • When asked to name the biggest workforce challenges of the coming decade, site selectors said labor shortages are No. , followed by aff ordable housing, upskilling, child care and lack of soft skills. • Access to an innovation or technology hub is either somewhat important or extremely important to % of respondents. • A state’s commitment to sustainability principles is either somewhat important or extremely important to % of respondents. Finally, we asked consultants an open- ended question about the importance of electric power as a site factor. eir answers were enlightening. Here is a sampling: • “It is THE driving factor.” • “Reliability, capacity and cost are all critical factors.” • “If you don’t have available power, you are going to get cut.” • “Capacity and infrastructure challenges limit site options.” • “It has exerted greater infl uence. We now examine grid congestion much earlier in the process.” TOP 10 BUSINESS CLIMATE STATES 1. Georgia 2. North Carolina 3. South Carolina T4. Tennessee T4. Texas 6. Virginia T7. Alabama T7. Mississippi T7. Ohio 10. Indiana Source: Annual Site Selectors Survey, Site Selection Magazine, November 2024 BEST CITIES FOR HEADQUARTERS 1. Dallas 2. Charlotte 3. Atlanta 4. Nashville 5. Raleigh T6. Austin T6. Chicago 8. Richmond T9. Memphis T9. Phoenix T9. San Diego Source: Annual Site Selectors Survey, Site Selection Magazine, November 2024 34 JANUARY 2025 SITE SELECTIONHyundai XCIENT fuel cell trucks were photographed at the Port of Brunswick, Georgia, in September 2024. Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America e South has a logistics and infrastructure advantage that has always made them attractive for projects like those that GLS work. Coupled with a relatively low-cost environment and relatively favorable business policies, they continue to be top of mind for many of our clients. From my perspective, key diff erentiators include economic development infrastructure and inventory availability. States like Tennessee and Georgia stand out for their state, utility and regional economic development organizations, which foster a collaborative partnership with location advisory fi rms. is collaboration can lessen some of the challenges of site selection, creating an environment of problem-solving and support rather than obstacles.” — Tess Fay , Principal and Vice President of Location Intelligence, Global Location Strategies, Greenville, South Carolina 36 JANUARY 2025 SITE SELECTION • “Power supply and the related physical equipment are a constraint for projects of all sizes. e megawatts are at a premium, but so too are simple things like transformers.” • “ e demand for suffi cient power will be a diff erentiating factor among states and communities for those projects (like data centers, battery factories and clean energy plants) that require large amounts of power.”Next >