CHELSEA, MASS. — The Arlon food and agriculture investment program has entered a partnership with Kettle Cuisine under which Arlon will provide financial resources and business insights to help Kettle to deliver products and services on a larger scale. Kettle is a maker of refrigerated and frozen all natural soups, producing more than 50 food service varieties and 10 consumer varieties that are distributed throughout the United States and Canada.

“Our partnership with Arlon will provide us the financial resources and business insights we need to expand our products and services on a larger national scale, all while maintaining our commitment to cooking and delivering premium quality, all natural soups,” said Jerry Shafir, who will maintain significant ownership in Kettle and continue as the company’s chief executive officer. “With our expansion into new markets, we believe this is the perfect time to bolster our resources and further enhance service offerings to our customers.”

Michelle Brooks, managing principal with Arlon, added, “We’re excited to partner with Kettle Cuisine because we believe in their products and philosophies and we see that they are well-aligned with current operator and consumer demands. We look forward to working closely with Jerry and his experienced management team to expand the Kettle Cuisine business for the long term. We’re joining their organization at a key growth time and it’s a wonderful example of our mission to seek out and invest in high-potential natural food purveyors.”

The Arlon food and agriculture investment program invests in middle market companies across various stages of the food and agriculture supply chain, including production, processing, distribution, food service and retail. Other companies in which Arlon has a stake include Excelline Food Products L.L.C. and K-Mac Holdings Corp.