Brands Face Jeopardy, Confusion After Co-Packer Suddenly Shuts Down

The abrupt closure of Lincoln, R.I.-based co-packer Plants to Food has left several brands wondering where and when they will be able to access their products and scrambling to find alternative manufacturing arrangements.

The plant closed without notice to clients, according to founders.

“They didn’t call at all,” said Erica Bethe Levin, founder of baby food maker Globowl. “They are our only co-packer.”

In addition to contract manufacturing, the company provided warehouse and third-party logistics like shipping, sourcing ingredients, and order fulfillment. Several brands found out about the closure when a distributor attempted to follow up on missing orders.

The Providence Business Journal reported in November 2024 that Plants to Food had about 40 clients and was still operating at about 20% capacity.

Employees of Plants to Food, which specialized in vegetarian and dairy-free products were notified on Thursday, June 18 – while they were off for the Juneteenth holiday – that they would no longer be receiving paychecks and that they should not return to work.

The plant employed approximately 30 to 40 people on a full- or part-time basis, according to conversations with former employees and clients.

Some Plants to Food employees have been working without paychecks to try to help brands fulfill purchase orders and move their products out of the warehouse, according to Levin, although others still have merchandise locked away at the facility.

Plants to Food is owned by Scott D. Lively; he purchased the facility in 2022 after having been a co-packing client of its former owners, the vegan food brand Wildtree. Reports in Providence Business News noted that Lively purchased the facility after Wildtree became unstable during the pandemic.

Before working with Plants to Food, Lively had been in the grass-fed meat business with a company called Dakota Beef, even writing a book called “For the Love of Beef.”

Despite his background in beef, Lively was the founder of a vegan cheese and chocolate business, Happyist. After buying Plants to Food; media reports indicate that he spent $300,000 to expand its warehouse to accommodate two new specialized production rooms for the business.

In 2022, Lively spoke with Rhode Island Monthly about his ambitious plans for Plants to Food, telling the magazine “The plan is to become a hub where small- to middle-sized food manufacturers that are ready to go to the next step of national distribution will make their products.”

As of press time, calls to Lively were unreturned.