Eniva moves out of Chapter 11 and Anoka

Dietary supplement firm Eniva Corp. announced Wednesday that it has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy after several cost-cutting moves.

The company outsourced 30 shipping and call center jobs to a local firm and moved its headquarters to Plymouth from Anoka.

"We have reset the foundation of our business for maximum efficiency and long-term viability. We literally left no stone unturned," said Eniva's CEO, Andy Baechler.

Eniva filed for bankruptcy protection last year, primarily to exit its lease in Anoka. The company became the anchor tenant in a 435,000-square-foot facility on a 26-acre development owned by real estate group Premier Anoka Partners. Baechler and his identical twin brother, Benjamin, were minor stakeholders in Premier Anoka Partners, and Eniva took up about 100,000 square feet of that building.

Eniva was assured that as more tenants moved into the building, its rent would go down. But no other tenants moved in, and it became too expensive to stay there, Andy Baechler said.

Commercial real estate brokers Marty Fisher and Rodney Lee, who were involved in the deal, did not return calls for comment. Premier Anoka Partners was to get an annual tax abatement from the city of Anoka, but because it didn't meet job creation goals, it never received the incentive.

As a result of Eniva exiting its lease, it will pay a $1.4 million rejection claim to landlords over the next three years, along with rent for the period it occupied the building during reorganization.

Eniva, created by brothers Andy and Benjamin Baechler, was seen as a rising star in the dietary supplements industry. The company sells products ranging from liquid nutritional supplements to lotions. Sales were $6.5 million in 2000, and jumped to more than $68 million in 2006. But since then, sales have declined as a weaker economy has cut into consumer spending.

This year, Eniva expects sales of around $20 million, a single-digit increase from 2011, Baechler said.

Baechler remains bullish about his company's future. There are plans to launch new products, expand its presence in Asia and work with field distributors to promote more regional health educational events.

"We are poised for future success," Baechler said.