Thinkstock

A health-food company backed by surfer Laird Hamilton expects to break ground in July on a new production facility in Sisters.

Laird Superfood received a $51,000 forgivable loan from the city of Sisters, which expects the company to hire 17 people at an average salary of $40,000, CEO Paul Hodge said. The city’s backing is minor compared with the company’s overall investment of about $1.5 million, but it had an emotional impact on the owners, who considered locating in Washington or Southern California, he said.

“They showed us they wanted us here,” he said.

Laird Superfood is already doing business in Sisters, and Hodge, who has other business ventures with Hamilton, has a ranch near Sisters.

The company’s first product is a coconut-based alternative to traditional powdered coffee creamers. Hodge said it’s distributed through about 150 grocery stores and the internet.

The company is also working to get the product into hotels and airlines, Hodge said. “In five years we envision being a trusted grocery brand,” he said.

Laird Superfood, which already has 18 employees, will move from its location on Pine Street in Sisters to the Three Sisters Business Park on Lundgren Mill Drive, Hodge said.

The company entered a 10-year lease for a 15,000-square-foot building, which will be custom-built by the business park developer, he said. The project also includes an 8,000-square-foot building that Laird Superfood hopes to occupy as it expands. In the meantime, it will be available to lease to other businesses, he said.

Laird Superfood’s coffee creamer has been widely available only since fall 2016, but the company is developing a whole line of products, Hodge said. The company could employ 45 people by next summer, according to an announcement from Economic Development for Central Oregon, which facilitated the forgivable loan. Hamilton and Hodge both live part-time in Kauai, Hodge said, and they have collaborated on other companies, including Golfboard, which makes a standing golf cart.

—Reporter: 541-617-7860, kmclaughlin@bendbulletin.com