Buddy’s Kitchen Plans to Add 300 Jobs in Lakeville

Burnsville-based Buddy’s Kitchen, which makes customized breakfast foods for airlines, convenience stores and retailers, continues to grow in the Twin Cities and may soon employ more than 750 people here.

Founded in 1974, the company quietly grew its business for years before experiencing more rapid growth this decade. In 2016, it acquired a former Arden Kitchens frozen foods facility in Lakeville. The 92,000-square-foot-building sits on 16 acres and had been empty since 2013. Since then, Buddy’s renovated it and opened it last year with about 150 jobs. The company also has about seven years left on a lease for a 65,000-square-foot facility in Burnsville, where it employs more than 300 people.

Buddy’s now plans to add 300 jobs to its Lakeville facility if the City of Lakeville agrees to a land swap, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

Late last year, Buddy’s was acquired by Premium Brands Holdings Corp., a Canadian-based specialty foods producer and distributor.

News of these additional jobs coming to Lakeville adds fuel to the argument by those who say it does not matter whether Minnesota’s headquarters businesses are acquired as long as those purchasing them continue to invest here.

Larger examples of this include another company based in Lakeville: MOM Brands, acquired by Post Consumer Brands a few years ago. Post has since moved its entire cereal headquarters business to Lakeville. For more regarding Minnesota losing its headquarters, and whether it matters, see this column from Twin Cities Business and a related cover story, and this more recent story in the Star Tribune.