First look: Inside Food Manufacturer's New Downtown HQ

Top Seedz is nearly ready to move into its new downtown headquarters.

The startup, which makes crackers and seed products, signed the downtown lease in mid-2022 and originally anticipated moving into its new spot at 101 Oak St. in spring 2023. But supply chain issues, equipment and construction delays and rising costs postponed the project.

Last year, the Erie County Industrial Development Agency rejected tax breaks for the new facility.

But now, the business’ CEO Rebecca Brady and COO William Brady estimate the manufacturing space – which is 30,000 square feet of the startup’s 35,000 square foot space – is about 90% ready. The office portion of the space just needs furniture.

The site will allow the company to expand its production capacity by 600% and as the business continues to expand, add to the space and upgrade its power infrastructure, eventually production will be boosted 10 to 15 times its current production levels.

“And that’s just what we can do in terms of crackers,” Rebecca said. “But there’s so much more capacity with other products.”

The business expects to move its manufacturing operations from its Cheektowaga facility to its downtown headquarters within the next six months, according to William.

The startup, which employs about 42, expects to grow its team to over 50 workers within the next three to five years.

Top Seedz has consistently grown sales over the last few years, from about $3.2 million in 2022 to $5.3 million in 2023. The business projects revenue this year to be north of $10 million, according to William.

Meanwhile, the company is working on getting its Safe Quality Food certification, an industry standard for food manufacturing, and continues to work on new flavors, including a spicy product.

“There’s always new flavors in the works,” Rebecca said. “We just want to be the industry experts on seeds."