BranchOut Food Inc., a producer of dehydrated fruit and vegetable-based products, announced that it has signed a long term lease for a 50,000-sq.-ft. production facility in Peru. Under the terms of the agreement, BranchOut Food has the first right to purchase the facility at a fixed price at any point during the 10-year term.

The company says it has expanded its operations in Peru and moved to 100% vertical integration in response to consistent and increasing demand for its branded and white-label products from some of the largest retailers in the U.S.

“Our current large-scale, continuous throughput dehydration machine will be moved into our new space. In addition, our second machine, which is currently on order, will be shipped to Peru and installed in the next couple months. Our new facility will be 100% owned and operated by BranchOut. We estimate the facility has $40 million in production capacity, with additional space to grow as needed,” says Eric Healy, CEO of BranchOut Food.

“We are very proud of our significant growth over the last 12 months, which has included repeat orders from the nation’s largest warehouse club and the nation’s largest retailer, among other retailers across the country. Establishing our own production facility in Peru, one of the world’s most abundant fruit and vegetable growing regions, will allow BranchOut Food to control every step of the production process, including quality control, planning and cost of goods. Additionally, we expect gross margins to grow to 40-50% as our production capacity increases,” adds Healy.

The company reports that the location provides access to an ample supply of labor and has direct and free trade routes with the U.S.