Another huge food brand files Chapter 11 bankruptcy

When a retailer or other high-profile brand goes bankrupt, it plays out in a very public way.

Some of the recent regional and local brewery bankruptcies have come with the companies getting to throw themselves a wake.

Flying Fish Brewery, for example. knew it was about to be auctioned off when it held a final weekend at its taproom. It was a festive occasion covering a sad one, where customers got one last chance to drink their favorite beers with the brand’s future very much in doubt.

For prominent retailers, the goodbye can take longer and it can be fairly sad. When a chain like Bed Bath & Beyond, Christmas Tree Shops or Tuesday Morning gets liquidated, an outside firm often handles the prolonged going-out-of-business sale.

By the end of those situations, the shelves are bare and the store fixtures are put on sale. It’s not a festive goodbye for the company or a last chance to say goodbye; it’s a funeral for something that had died weeks ago.

Some brands, however, may be gigantic but largely unknown to the public. That happened last October, when Prima Wawona, the largest U.S. peach producer, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The huge farming company had $600 million of debt and probably sold you peaches and other types of stone fruit, but its bankruptcy flew under the radar because the brand was never marketed to the general public.

Now, another huge farming company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and while you may not know the brand name, you have almost certainly eaten its chief product.

A number of large farming operations have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Image source: Shutterstock

Huge almond grower files Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Most Americans don’t know the companies and farming operations that produce their produce. Trinitas Farming, a large provider of almonds does not market its brand despite the size of its operation.

In fact, the company’s sparse website provides only a fairly confusing description of its operations.

“Trinitas Farming, LLC is a leader in the farm services industry and oversees world-class agricultural properties,” the company says. “Headquartered in the heart of California’s Central Valley, we offer a full range of farm management and agricultural business services to our members. Our farms and associated businesses are diverse in size and owned by a mixture of local families, employees, and investors.”

In reality, Trinitas Farming is owned by Trinitas Partners, a Redwood City, Calif., private-equity firm that began acquiring almond ranches in 2015 and now runs 17 of them covering 8,000 acres, according to the SJVSun.

Trinitas Farming has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, carrying nearly $190 million of debt.

What’s next for Trinitas Farming

Americans probably won’t see their almond supplies disrupted. The company plans to keep producing as it attempts to sort out its finances.

Trinitas disclosed in its bankruptcy filing that it had essentially run out of cash and plans to sell its farms and other assets.

The company attributed its problems to its heavy debt load and low almond prices. It also cited lower yields at newer farms, making it impossible to produce profitable crops.

“Debts include a $130 million term loan extended by Rabo Ag in November 2022, plus an additional $31 million in ‘delayed draw’ loans,” the Business Journal of Fresno, Calif., reported. “Debts owed to 20 of the largest unsecured creditors total more than $26.6 million. Its largest unsecured creditor is The Almond Co. hulling operation in Madera, with a $9.2 million claim. The Harvesting Group in Fresno is owed $4.8 million.”

The company has asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California to approve a $30 million funding plan as it enters a crucial period during the almond growing season. If those funds are not approved quickly, the company could see a major interruption in its ability to grow almonds.

“The cost of irrigation, fertilizers, chemicals, and pollination alone — without which the Debtors will not be able to support their almond orchards — exceeds $520,000 during the first week and $2.2 million in the first five weeks,” according to court documents.