Dell Cove expanding in New Haven

NEW HAVEN, Ind. – Allen County is the new home of a startup run by a husband-and-wife team. Dell Cove Spices & More Co.®, a gourmet popcorn and popcorn seasoning business, today announced plans are well underway to relocate the company from Chicago to New Haven. The company’s co-owners expect to scale up quickly, adding up to 50 new jobs and investing up to $233,000 by the end of 2024.

Dell Cove 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 businesses, and event coordinators to host popcorn bars and stations at home and during special events.

“New Haven is the perfect place for us to grow the company,” Dell Cove co-owner David Beets said. “It puts us much closer physically to some of the popcorn farmers in Indiana and Ohio, with whom we want to work. The fact that the city is also a major transportation hub makes it fairly simple for us to be able to bring in raw materials and helps lower freight costs.”

Dell Cove was founded in 2010 by then-newlyweds David and Patricia Beets. Patricia’s job in journalism was transferred from Chicago to California, making it a long-distance relationship as David maintained his engineering job in the Midwest. While David, a U.S. Army veteran, looked for jobs in California, the couple stayed connected by cooking meals “together” via Skype. They also began making edible gifts for loved ones. At a friend’s suggestion, they began selling their infused sugars, salts, and organic spice mixes online.

As business picked up, the couple reunited in Chicago, creating, blending, and packaging their products by hand. By 2012, David quit his engineering job to run the business full-time out of the company’s commercial kitchen.

Food is a tradition in both of their families; David’s grandmother made homegrown juices and jellies, while Patricia comes from a long line of Iowa farmers.

“This move made sense both for business and personal reasons,” David Beets said. “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 plans to launch a new recycling program 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 company has moved into a 7,000-square-foot space at 1221 Hartzell St. in New Haven and will scale up there, installing warehouse and computer equipment and photography studio supplies, labeling equipment, and a laser-etching machine to customize glass jars. Dell Cove plans to hire up to 50 new employees in sales, warehousing, and shipping positions beginning this fall. Interested applicants can learn more by emailing hello@dellcovespices.com.

“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.”

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Dell Cove 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 will provide the company with additional hiring and training assistance.

“We are proud to welcome Dell Cove to our community,” New Haven Mayor Steve McMichael said. “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.”

About Dell Cove Spices & More Co.®

Founded in 2010, Dell Cove Spices & More Co.® creates delicious, all-natural craft popcorn products that destroy boring movie nights and brings joy to the lives of popcorn connoisseurs everywhere. The company’s products are gluten-free, nut-free – and many are sugar-free and vegan friendly. The company supports family farm operations that produce crops using sustainable farming practices, and is launching a new recycling program this summer, to convert its used packaging into a fuel that can be used by farmers to power their equipment. Learn more at dellcovespices.com.

About Greater Fort Wayne Inc.

Greater Fort Wayne (GFW) Inc. serves Fort Wayne and Allen County, Indiana, as its metro chamber alliance and primary point of contact for economic growth. GFW Inc. focuses on prosperity and community vibrancy through economic development, advocacy, programs and resources that support business success, leadership development, graduate retention and community engagement. GFW Inc. worked with state and local partners to assist Dell Cove with their expansion plans. In 2020, GFW Inc. assisted 20 businesses in expansions or relocations in Allen County, resulting in more than 1,850 projected new jobs, more than $69 million in new annual payroll, and more than $169 million in new investment.