Cleveland Kitchen, formerly Cleveland Kraut, raises $19 million and adds 50 employees by buying Californian pickle company

The homegrown fermented food company Cleveland Kitchen announced a $19 million fundraising round and the purchase of another company.

Cleveland Kitchen will buy Sonoma Brinery, a pickle manufacturer in Healdsburg, California, Cleveland Kitchen announced in a news release. Sonoma Brinery has 50 employees, who will all be retained, and makes different forms of pickles and sauerkraut.

Drew Anderson, Cleveland Kitchen’s CEO and cofounder, said the purchase will help get products to market faster, give the company a West Coast presence, and add Sonoma’s products to Cleveland Kitchen’s lineup.

According to Sonoma Brinery’s website, its products are sold in about 500 stores already. Cleveland Kitchen said it plans to drastically increase the facilities output.

Originally called Cleveland Kraut, the company was founded by brothers Drew and Mac Anderson and their brother-in-law Luke Visnic. They started by fermenting their own sauerkraut and grew the businesses into one of the fastest-growing companies in the country. The company now sells sauerkraut, dressings, kimchi and pickles.

Cleveland Kitchen said it has grown its revenue by 110% since 2016, and expects more growth in 2022 as it invests in more manufacturing and distribution.