2 north San Francisco manufacturers plan 184 hires
Two North Bay natural-food and wellness companies are slated for expansion after being awarded a share of nearly $100 million in tax credits. The local ventures, which are among nine California businesses awarded the money, plan to collectively spend $53.3 million and add 184 jobs.
These awards, announced Monday, aim to accelerate manufacturing expansion, create thousands of new jobs and spur more than $370 million in private investment statewide.
Gimme Health Foods Inc., a San Rafael-based pioneer in certified-organic seaweed snacks, will receive $2.8 million in California Competes tax credits. The company plans to spend $20.13 million to establish a new seaweed food and snack manufacturing facility in the Central Valley city of Madera, expand its headquarters and create 102 net new jobs, according to the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz).
Known to consumers as Gimme Seaweed, the brand debuted on this year’s Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies at No. 2,324 with 183% three-year growth.
Founded by Korean-American entrepreneur Annie Chun and her husband, Steve Broad, after selling their previous Annie Chun’s brand in 2009, Gimme has built a reputation for healthier, environmentally responsible snacks. In 2022 the company introduced the first roasted seaweed snack packs without plastic trays, and its Korean barbecue flavor won People magazine’s People Food Award this year. Chun and Broad also received the Specialty Food Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025.
Meanwhile, Santa Rosa-based Bella Phytologic will receive $1 million in tax credits to support a $33.2 million investment in vitamin and supplement manufacturing facilities in Sonoma County, creating 82 net new jobs.
The woman-owned company, whose name translates to “the beauty of knowledge and logic of plants,” focuses on acquiring natural, transparent wellness brands and producing the products.
Bella Phytologic’s portfolio includes a diverse range of natural wellness brands focused on high-quality, clean-ingredient products: Sierra Life Sciences and The Perfect Vitamin for ethical dietary supplements and vitamins; Healthy Herbs for all-natural vegan herbs and sea moss; Ellovi for pure plant-based nutritional skincare; Scientific Health Solutions for professional-grade targeted nutrients; Pin Up Girl for high-protein powders; and Bucket of Gummies for premium bulk chewy supplements.
It was started in 2018 in Nevada then was located in Southern California until this year. The company purchased two adjacent commercial buildings totaling 12,052 square feet at 396–398 Tesconi Court in Santa Rosa for $2.29 million on May 14, public records show. The Santa Rosa Metro Chamber hosted an open house at the newly renovated facility last month.
In a May 2024 promotional video, founder and CEO Ofelia Nenaydokh explained the brand’s personal origins: “I started with one product. That I wanted to heal myself. And once that helped me, I wanted to help everybody out there, especially the women that had this chronic pain.”
Nenaydokh’s goal is to “make every woman feel pretty in a natural way, from putting on a natural cream to natural makeup to a tinted natural lipstick or lip balm. We need more simplicity.”
President Slavik Nenaydokh emphasized plans to bring manufacturing back to the United States.
“We are putting together a formula at Bella where we are able to reverse onshore,” he said in the video. “In other words, we’re going to bring the totality of our supply chain back to the United States, the jobs back to the United States.”
He described the commitment as a return favor to the country that welcomed many of the company’s immigrant team members.
The CalCompetes awards will support an estimated 2,752 new full-time jobs statewide with an average weighted annual salary of $139,000.
“California’s global leadership in innovation and manufacturing continues to set us apart,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in the announcement. “Through programs like CalCompetes, we’re attracting companies and helping them grow successfully in our state, creating good-paying jobs and opportunities for Californians.”
GO-Biz Director Dee Dee Myers called the recipients “the next generation of California innovation,” spanning advanced manufacturing to health supplements and food production.
Jeff Quackenbush joined North Bay Business Journal in May 1999. He covers primarily wine, construction and real estate. Reach him at jeff@nbbj.news or 707-521-4256.