Buffalo-basd JECA is planning a significant expansion of its manufacturing capacity and physical space as it expands into more than 200 stores across the northeast and mid-Atlantic.
Through product development, fundraising, manufacturing strategy, team-building, marketing, business development, sales and the concurrent lines of her personal life.
Through all of it, Ree Dolnick never forgot her vision for JECA Energy Bars.
“The idea has always been to become a sentinel brand in our backyard, meaning the northeast and mid-Atlantic, and then to enter controlled growth nationally,” Dolnick said.
That time has come.
JECA Energy Bars is on a major win streak with its artisanal energy bars which emphasize ‘whole food’ intake of healthy fats, fiber, proteins and antioxidants, an alternative to ultra-processed snack foods and fillers.
What that means: Over the past year, JECA has scored two major distribution wins, including through the entire Wegmans Food Markets footprint and three regions of Whole Foods, meaning JECA will be sold at 261 locations throughout the northeast and mid-Atlantic.
The company has always had high-sell through rates at retail locations, and sales grew 230% last year. Dolnick, the company’s founder and CEO, said that percentage growth is accelerating.
“This is such an exciting time for us to finally see the vision come to life and accelerate,” said Dolnick, who officially launched JECA as a company in 2019. “It’s wonderful and at the same time it’s a little bit daunting. Now we have to make sure we have the capacity to handle this expansion.”
JECA’s growth comes at a thrilling moment for female-led healthy food CPG companies in Buffalo. FoodNerd, led by founder and CEO Sharon Cryan, recently closed a $7.5M Series Seed round and is expanding into 800-plus grocers across the U.S. Top Seedz, led by founder and CEO Rebecca Brady, already had national distribution but managed to grow 50% in 2025 and recently opened its first Cosco account.
Buffalo has a rich history of food manufacturing, including corporate anchor company Rich Products Corp., industry-leading pasta and meatball maker Rosina Food Products and important corporate factories such as Lactalis and General Mills.
There’s even a recent history of liquidity in the food space: Finger Food Products (maker of the Original Pizza Log out of its large factory in Sanborn) was quietly sold to private equity-backed Albie’s Foods three years ago.
For JECA, this moment is now about preparing to accommodate the things that come along with expanded sales. That includes a planned significant expansion of the company’s physical plant, which currently occupies a small space on Cayuga Drive in Cheektowaga, to house new equipment that has been ordered.
Dolnick has assembled a leadership team of executives with experience in the food space, along with five full-time employees. That number of employees is expected to grow throughout 2026.
JECA’s local investors include Launch NY and the University at Buffalo’s Innovation Seed Fund.
