A snack manufacturing plant in Conover will shut its doors Dec. 16, 2026, eliminating 93 jobs at the facility located roughly 50 miles north of Charlotte. The closure, confirmed in a state WARN filing, affects Powered by FTGU LLC, the company behind the Real Food From The Ground Up snack brand, at its plant on Somerset Drive NW in Catawba County.
The WARN notice was filed Oct. 19 and became publicly available Thursday, Oct. 22, according to the Charlotte Observer. Federal law generally requires employers to provide advance written notice of mass layoffs and plant closings of this size, and the U.S. Department of Labor states that covered employers must give at least 60 calendar days’ notice under the WARN Act.
Real Food From The Ground Up markets itself as a maker of plant-based snacks, including what the brand’s own site describes as veggie-based pretzels and stalks, cauliflower chips and crackers, according to Real Food From The Ground Up. The brand sits under the umbrella of Our Home, a privately held company that does not publicly report its earnings, per the same Observer report. Our Home’s portfolio also includes Popchips and Pop Secret popcorn, and the company is headquartered in New Jersey.
A Pattern of Plant Closures Across Our Home’s Network
Conover is not an isolated case. The Observer’s report notes that Our Home plans to close several other facilities by December 2026, and the Conover shutdown follows two similar closures announced elsewhere this year. Last week, Powered by FTGU announced it would close a facility in Lititz, Pennsylvania, with that plant — located at 124 West Airport Road in Manheim Township — set to shut down Dec. 14, laying off 67 people, according to PennLive. That closure was also disclosed through a WARN filing, this one submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry…