RSF Social Finance Makes a Loan to American Halal Company
SAN FRANCISCO, June 29, 2015 /3BL Media/ - RSF Social Finance (RSF) is pleased to announce a new loan to American Halal Company, Inc. (dba Saffron Road Foods), a Certified Halal all natural food brand. RSF financing will be used to fund working capital needs for this rapidly growing business.
American Halal’s mission is to restore the sacredness of our food and its relationship to us, our creator, and our Mother Earth. By sourcing products that are antibiotic and hormone-free, non-genetically modified, organic, and sourced exclusively from family-owned farms, the company is advancing a healthier and more sustainable food system while addressing resource issues inherent therein.
The company was founded in 2010 by serial natural food entrepreneur Adnan Durrani. Durrani was inspired by the Silk Road Project, an intercultural event by cellist Yo-Yo Ma that showcased the world’s various cultures that coalesced and intermingled for over 3,000 years on the famous silk route. The Silk Road was the exact path that saffron was first traded on, hence the brand name Saffron Road which is wholly owned by American Halal Company, Inc. Through its Saffron Road brand, Durrani sought to create a natural food company that excluded “no faiths or cultures—but rather strives to be inclusive and celebrate all faiths with values that are multi-ethnic, socially responsible, and spiritually timeless.”
“American Halal and its Saffron Road brand is a pioneer and leader in the natural food industry,” says Kate Danaher, RSF Lending Manager. “They are raising the bar for health and nutrition in a category (Frozen) that has historically lacked nutrition, and promoting a shift in the sourcing of livestock from family owned, antibiotic free, sustainable, and humanely responsible farms.”
Today their brand, Saffron Road, offers a line of frozen and prepared food products in major retailers such as Whole Foods, Safeway, Publix, and Target. The company is a recognized leader in halal, and the first to offer all-natural, Halal-certified, antibiotic free, and humanely raised frozen entrees.
“We have been blessed to be able to bring on RSF as our asset based lender,” says Durrani. “At American Halal, we always try to partner with the top tier socially responsible enterprises, and RSF is first class in this category. From the outset, our organizations’ and team members’ chemistry, passion for social impact, and compassion for humane animal welfare cosmically bonded, both on a business and personal level.” The RSF loan will provide American Halal with working capital that will insure optimal production capacity at its manufacturing facilities and help secure its sustainable livestock supplies, all of which come from family owned farms. “RSF’s funding is enabling us to provide dietary options for over 8 million disenfranchised American Halal consumers, while also serving the natural food community at large, driven by 80 million aspirational American millennials.”
About RSF Social Finance
Located in San Francisco, CA, RSF Social Finance (RSF) is a financial services organization dedicated to transforming the way the world works with money. Since 1984, the organization has made over $275 million in loans and $100 million in grants to non-profit and for-profit social enterprises working in the areas of Food & Agriculture, Education & the Arts, and Ecological Stewardship. RSF's lending capital comes primarily from 1,500 individuals who have invested $1,000 or more in the organization's Social Investment Fund. Investors earn a competitive return on their money comparable to a certificate of deposit while their funds are deployed to leading social enterprises. To learn more, visit www.rsfsocialfinance.org
About American Halal dba Saffron Road
American Halal Co. markets All Natural, Antibiotic Free, or Organic Halal Certified food products under its wholly owned Saffron Road brand which are available in 8,000 stores nationwide. Saffron Road's mission is to offer All Natural Halal Certified and Gluten Free foods, which are also holistic, sustainably farmed, and antibiotic free. Saffron Road's products are sourced from livestock which is fed only 100% vegetarian feed and are humanely treated. All of Saffron Road's Products are Halal Certified by the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA) and are the only premium, Halal Certified and All Natural brand available in grocery markets nationwide in USA.
Contact
Kate Danaher – Lending Manager
kate.danaher@rsfsocialfinance.org
415.561.6181
Megan Mendenhall - Communications Associate
megan.mendenhall@rsfsocialfinance.org
415.561.6161
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