Tattooed Chef Inc., a plant-based food producer with properties in Albuquerque, is filing for bankruptcy, with the company citing an inability to turn a profit, the Albuquerque Business First reported. While the Paramount, Calif.-based company did not comment on the details of the extent of employee layoffs either in New Mexico or elsewhere, it said in a statement on June 30 announcing its intention to file for bankruptcy that “the Company has provided notice of intended layoffs to its employees in California and New Mexico.” In addition, the company on June 30 filed a worker adjustment and retraining notification (WARN) with the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions that listed the total number of layoffs at 272, with a layoff date of Aug. 30. Tattooed Chef acquired Albuquerque-based New Mexico Food Distributors Inc. and Karsten Tortilla Factory LLC in a $34.1 million deal in May 2021. The company was awarded $190,424 by the state of New Mexico under the Job Training Incentive Program in 2021, with the money intended to be used for on-the-job or classroom training for newly created positions for businesses either relocating or expanding their presence in New Mexico. The funds were not awarded outright, but instead the company was able to be reimbursed by the State with them once the training was complete, Tattooed Chef never filed for reimbursement, so no funds were disbursed, Bruce Krasnow, public information officer at the New Mexico Economic Development Department, said. Tattooed Chef was backed by Kansas City, Mo.-based UMB Capital, a subsidiary of UMB Bank, who invested $7 million in the company before it went public in 2020.
