When Cocola Inc., a one-of-a-kind, high-end bakery, needed to expand its production capacity to meet increasing demand for its decadent desserts, the owners turned to Capital Access Group and the SBA 504 loan program.
Established in 2002 by Sue and Amir Aliabadi, Cocola currently distributes about half of its products to its five retail bakery locations with the remainder being distributed to independent retail bakeries and grocery stores. Recently, Cocola’s wholesale accounts have grown to include Costco, Safeway, and Apple, Inc., for its company cafeterias.
Cocola leveraged the SBA 504 program to purchase and renovate an 8,000 square foot warehouse-office space, which will give the growing business the space it needs to sustain current growth and to meet increased future production levels.
Cocola has created 30 jobs in the community, and the new facility is expected to result in an additional 20 jobs over the next two years.