LAGO Closes New Financing Deal in Consumer Sector for Cleveland Kitchen

CHICAGO, IL, UNITED STATES, July 8, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- LAGO, a premier lower middle market focused alternative investment platform, announces it has closed a financing round for Cleveland Kitchen — the fastest-growing and #1 fermented foods brand in the country on a mission to make eating healthy delicious and accessible. The decision to work with LAGO stems from Cleveland Kitchen's aggressive growth strategy and expansion plans, and LAGO's competitive advantage of providing full debt capital solutions to support the company's next chapter of scale. The fermented food and beverage sector is rapidly expanding driven by consumer demand for wellness trends.

"We have known the LAGO leadership team for years, and this partnership feels like a natural next step," said Drew Anderson, CEO and Co-founder of Cleveland Kitchen. "Their unique financial product structure gives us the flexibility to pursue the growth ahead of us aggressively, and their deep expertise in CPG, food, and manufacturing means they truly understand what it takes to scale a brand like Cleveland Kitchen. We couldn't be more excited about what we'll build together."

Launched in 2014 in Cleveland, OH, Cleveland Kitchen began with sauerkraut and quickly grew into a full portfolio of fresh fermented foods, including kimchi, pickles, and beyond. Today, Cleveland Kitchen is the trailblazer of fresh fermented foods, with distribution in over 18,000 stores nationwide.

"We're delighted to support Cleveland Kitchen and their continued growth and success," said Heather La Freniere, Managing Partner and COO of LAGO. "Most lenders look at a balance sheet and see collateral, but we want to understand where the real value is created — brand strength, customer loyalty, growth trajectory — so that we can fuel growth, delivering a revolving line of credit and term loan for Cleveland Kitchen that goes further than any traditional ABL structure.”

About Cleveland Kitchen
Cleveland Kitchen is a leading fresh fermented foods company on a mission to make eating healthy both delicious and accessible. Founded in Cleveland, Ohio, the brand produces a portfolio of fresh fermented foods including sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, pickled vegetables, and coleslaw, that are crafted with fresh ingredients and packed with flavor. Cleveland Kitchen products are available in more than 18,000 retail locations nationwide, including Walmart, Target, Kroger, Publix, Sprouts, Whole Foods Market, and Costco. For more information visit https://www.clevelandkitchen.com/ and follow on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/cleveland-kitchen/ and Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/clevelandkitchen/, Tiktok, http://www.tiktok.com/@clevelandkitchen/ and Pinterest, https://www.pinterest.com/ClevelandKitchen/.

About LAGO
LAGO, through its affiliated entities, is a premier lower middle market focused alternative investment platform based in Chicago. The firm’s core strategy focuses on lending to companies in markets where the demand for institutional credit solutions exceeds supply and the deployment of capital is not commoditized. Since its founding, the firm has successfully served as financing partner to over 130 companies across sectors. With the ability to address a variety of needs, including working capital, strategic growth initiatives, liquidity solutions, recaps and refinancings, LAGO serves as a valuable financial resource for underserved companies in the lower middle market. For more information and important disclaimers, please visit our website at www.lagogcm.com and follow on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/lago-global-capital-management/?viewAsMember=true.

Roberta Tsang
RTPR
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