For many people, beer, brats and cheese are the staples of Wisconsin food and beverage manufacturing. Some might add cranberries, kringle or even ginseng or soy sauce, but surely not guacamole, right?

The reality is in just five years in Wisconsin – and 10 years in business – Pleasant Prairie-based Good Foods Group LLC developed a line of healthy dips, dressings and juices – led by its flagship guacamole – that consumers can find at major retailers.

“They kind of came out of nowhere and their growth trajectory has been really fascinating to watch,” said Shelley Jurewicz, executive director of FaB Wisconsin, a food and beverage industry organization based in Milwaukee.

Good Foods moved from Chicago to Pleasant Prairie in 2013, bringing about 50 jobs when it bought a 57,000-square-foot facility in the LakeView Corporate Park. The company received a $127,000 loan from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and was expected to create 21 new jobs and make a $7.25 million capital investment. In 2015, Good Foods made an additional investment, adding 40,000 square feet of production space. Through the end of 2017, the company had beyond exceeded the jobs target and invested more than $32 million, prompting WEDC to forgive the loan.

Today, Good Foods has around 600 employees and is considering another facility with additional cold storage and office space to accommodate its growth.

The Kenosha Area Business Alliance named Good Foods its business of the year for 2018. The company will be among those recognized during the annual Ovation Awards ceremony Nov. 1 at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

Story by Arthur Thomas