Bridge Finance Group (BFG), a private credit company that primarily focuses on early-stage, high growth companies in the food and beverage industry, announced $1 million financing for 4th & Heart, a CPG brand offering ghee made from grass-fed, pasture-raised butter.

The financing will be used to acquire equipment to move production wholly in-house to the company’s integrated ghee manufacturing facility. As a result, 4th & Heart aims to lower production costs and control the entire manufacturing process from start to finish.

“Securing this equipment enables us to control even more of our supply chain and drive efficiency in manufacturing our products, which we believe will better support our current customers and lead to increased distribution,” said 4th & Heart CEO Max Dichter. “Additionally, we’re looking forward to finalizing our innovation process that will enable us to bring a game-changing new product - and the first of its kind - to the refrigerated butter set in the coming months.”  

Spreadable and shelf-stable, ghee is lactose-free, can be kept in the pantry for up to 12 months, and has a high smoke point, making it a viable alternative to butter. Since its founding in 2015, 4th & Heart has become the largest and fastest growing omnichannel ghee company in the category. The brand is nationally distributed in over 12,000 stores including Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, Kroger, Walmart, H-E-B, and many more stores nationwide as well as various specialty retailers and shipping through their website and Amazon.

“Long term, we’re focused on driving awareness and education for the broader ghee category,” said Dichter. “There is a clear movement in the refrigerated butter set toward better butter and 4th & Heart ghee is even better butter. We’ll take the next big step toward educating consumers through innovation, which we believe will increase awareness for the ghee category overall.”  

Founded in 2016 by Clayton and Grant Christopher, Bridge Finance Group focuses on early-stage, high growth food and beverage companies including the likes of Austin Eastciders, Rhythm Superfoods, JuneShine, Kettle & Fire, Miyoko’s, and more. BFG debt offerings range from $500,000 to $20 million and the group works with partners with an average revenue of $3 million to $50 million.   

“A leader in their category, we are excited to partner with 4th & Heart in this new chapter as they bring production in-house,” said Grant Christopher, President of BFG. “They not only possess attractive business attributes with a strong management team and robust margins, but also have a great brand and a fantastic product in a growing sector. It is a competitive space, but this is a strategy we believe will keep them at the top of the category as they continue to scale.”