In grocery store freezers across the country, there is a unique seafood entree with a great story behind it. During the late 1980s, entrepreneur Stacey Kimball started selling her stuffed fish and seafood casseroles to local grocery stores from her coastal New Hampshire fish shop. Oven Poppers became wildly popular, but rapid growth put serious strain on the company's cash flow. After thoroughly investigating financing options, she found that BusinessManager was the most cost-effective and well-structured solution. "Factoring was too expensive and we never felt comfortable with trusting our cash flow to a large non-bank company in another city. When we discovered that the BusinessManager program was available at our local bank-and that it was very cost-effective-we were ecstatic," says Kimball.

Using BusinessManager, Kimball immediately began to turn her receivables into an asset to improve operations, strengthen supplier relationships, take on more business, and expand product offerings. "Looking at the numbers and the opportunities it has created for our business, BusinessManager more than pays for itself," says Kimball.

Having working capital gave Kimball confidence to take on orders for Fortune 100 companies, including Wal-Mart and Costco. "We offer such a unique product. Our problem wasn't lack of demand, it was the lack of liquidity to pursue and take on more accounts. With BusinessManager, we can capture the business out there waiting for us," says Kimball. After two years, the company experienced an annual growth rate of 34 percent. Kimball attributes much of the company's success to the BusinessManager program. "Not having to worry about cash flow and managing receivables relieves the growing pains many food manufacturers face."

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Oven Poppers
FROZEN FOOD MANUFACTURER
Manchester, NH

Dilemma
Unable to take advantage of growth opportunities; found traditional factoring to be too expensive; unable to secure traditional financing.

Initial Purchase
$331,880

Expansion
- Increased sales by $2 million
- Experienced most successful growth year to date
- Took on large corporate clients
- Built better relationships with suppliers

Quote
"Looking at the numbers and the opportunities it has created for our business, BusinessManager more than pays for itself."