LuLu’s Dessert Factory Inc., which makes Mexican-style gelatin desserts and frozen fruit bars, has relocated from Huntington Beach to a 54,000-square-foot plant in Vernon.
The company’s decision to move out of Orange County came after LuLu’s recently bought a four-acre lot in Rancho Santa Margarita, where it had planned to build a new headquarters and plant.
“Two days before I was to sign the building contract, I got a call from a contractor in Los Angeles who said there was a plant in Vernon I had to see,” said Maria de Lourdes Sobrino, founder and owner of LuLu’s.
Sobrino, whose nickname is Lulu, said she decided to purchase the Vernon plant because it was exactly what she had planned to build in Rancho Santa Margarita.
“We saved a lot of time and money moving to the new plant,” she said.
Sobrino, an Orange County Business Journal Women in Business Award winner last year, called the move a difficult one. “It took a lot of thinking. I even had to sell my home,” said the former Coto de Caza resident.
Orange County’s relatively high cost of living was a factor for production workers, Sobrino said.
“Moving to Vernon was best for the company, especially for the labor force,” she said.
LuLu’s Dessert Factory had been based in Huntington Beach for 11 years and employs about 100 people. The company counts annual sales of about $9 million.
For now, LuLu’s biggest worry is the energy crisis, according to Sobrino. With a business that makes gelatin products and frozen fruit bars, refrigeration is key. In Vernon, LuLu’s gets power from a city-owned utility.
Plans for the company’s Huntington Beach plant still are unclear, according to Sobrino. While the plant is closed and up for sale, Sobrino said she may consider reopening it in a couple of months if demand warrants. n
