On March 20, Benson Hill released it has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
The company will sell its business under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code, while continuing to support its farmers, partners, and customers during the Chapter 11 process.
Founded in 2012, the company says its work is at the intersection of food science, data science and plant science. The company was headquartered in St. Louis, MO. Its revenues in 2023 were $473.3 million. In 2023, the company sold its grain facilities in Seymour, Indiana and Creston, Iowa as part of adopting an asset-light business model.
In the past two years the company had 465 employees and served market categories including: bakery, oil, alternate dairy, protein, snacks, and pet food.
Dan Jacobi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Benson Hill, said the company’s fate is the result of industry challenges and financial constraints.
“Benson Hill has made significant strides in advancing our seed innovation portfolio by developing soybeans with enhanced compositional traits that deliver value creation for end users and improved sustainable solutions for growers,” Jacobi said in a statement.
Additional product development included (over the company’s duration):
- Development of 30 soybean varieties for specialty product platforms
- Ultra-High Protein, Low Oligosaccharide soybean meal for poultry
- Ultra-high protein soybean meal for aquaculture
- Yellow pea breeding for alternative meat products
The company separated from its co-founder Matt Crisp in 2023. Its most recent CEO was Deanie Elsner, who had a career in the consumer products industry including Kraft Foods, Quaker Oats, Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble.
