Some 3PLs try to be everything to everyone. Badger Fulfillment Group went the other way: pick the brands you can serve exceptionally well, build the operation around them, and let the results do the talking. Nine peak seasons later, the family-owned operation in Harvard, Illinois runs a purpose-built 120,000 square foot facility, serves 70+ brands, and reports 98% client retention.
This is the story of how they got there.
It Started With an Email Chain (and a Couple of Palomas)
The company joke is that Badger was founded over palomas on a vacation in Mexico. The real story starts a little earlier, with founder Kyle Kobriger inside a large corporate environment, frustrated by how slowly obvious decisions got made.
He was looking for the next thing, and said so on that vacation to his father-in-law, an entrepreneur. A couple of weeks later, his father-in-law forwarded him an email chain discussing third-party logistics. Fast forward to 2017, and Kyle was standing in a 50,000 square foot facility with no 3PL experience, a handful of pet treat companies as clients, and the thought that the building was enormous and would take forever to fill.
It did not take forever. The early days were pure scrap: Kyle ran the operation as a one-man show until he could not keep up, then hired his first employee on third shift so orders could be prepped for the next day. Referrals compounded, the founding team grew to three, and the original building was stretched to its limits.
The Building on Dogs Way
The turning point came in 2022, when Badger built a brand-new facility to support its growth: 120,000 square feet at 13 Dogs Way in Harvard, Illinois, about an hour northwest of Chicago and close to O'Hare.
The specs read like a CPG brand's wish list:
- Climate controlled between 68 and 72 degrees, year round
- FDA registered
- 24/7 surveillance with gated access
- Powered almost entirely by solar
That facility now anchors a hybrid operation handling direct-to-consumer, B2B and retail, subscription boxes, kitting and assembly, FBA prep, returns processing, and freight, with lot and expiration tracking for regulated and consumable products.
A Sweet Spot They Can Name Precisely
Ask most 3PLs who their ideal client is and you get a shrug and the word "growing." Ask Badger and you get numbers.
The team's sweet spot is consumer packaged goods brands shipping roughly 500 to 15,000 orders per month with focused catalogs, typically under 100 SKUs, in categories like supplements, beauty and personal care, CBD and hemp, food and snacks, and health and wellness. Products generally no larger than a basketball, moving fast, where speed and accuracy compound.
Just as telling is what they will say no to: sprawling low-velocity SKU catalogs, heavily customized exception-driven workflows, and wholesale-only or FBA-only operations. "If we're the right fit, we'll tell you. If we're not, we'll tell you that too," the team says. "We think that's how lasting partnerships are built."
If you are still mapping what a fit looks like for your own brand, our guides on how to choose a 3PL and what a 3PL costs in 2026 are good starting points.
Enterprise Tech, Family-Sized Access
Badger runs on Logiwa IO, an enterprise WMS the team chose after evaluating the market's leading platforms, specifically because it handles B2B and DTC well from a single system. Native integrations and an open API connect the usual suspects: Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, TikTok Shop, NetSuite, Cin7, SPS Commerce and more.
Every customer gets direct WMS access with real-time inventory, order status, shipments, billing and reporting, plus automation under the hood: packaging rules, dynamic carrier rate shopping, inventory alerts and order routing.
The structural difference is what sits on top of the technology: a 40+ person team with no layers between clients and the people actually running their operation. Onboarding, account management, warehouse operations and leadership are all a direct line, not a ticket queue.
The Proof
Badger reports numbers that most 3PLs would lead with:
- 98% of DTC orders fulfilled the same day
- 99.9% order accuracy through a two-scan verification process
- 98% client retention
- 75% year-over-year growth
The client stories back them up. AspenClean, an eco-certified natural cleaning products brand, moved to Badger after facing significant challenges with a much larger 3PL. Amazing Cosmetics, a 25-year-old independent cosmetics company trusted in the television and film industry, came to Badger after a first 3PL experience founder Sue Katz describes as "a nightmare with short ships and inaccurate inventory counts," followed by years of running her own warehouse.
"When I visited Badger, only an hour away, I was impressed with the cleanliness, organization and integrity they offer. We love never having to worry that our orders are shipped out accurately and on a timely basis."
Sue Katz, Amazing Cosmetics
Midwest Roots, On Purpose
Badger's leadership trio splits the work cleanly: Kyle Kobriger, president and founder, with a background in corporate finance and pricing, sets strategy; co-founder Jared Kobriger, a mechanical engineer by training, owns the systems and processes behind the scenes; and co-founder Lance Wagner, a veteran of managing large projects and teams, runs operations with a focus on accountability and execution.
The culture underneath is deliberately Midwestern: work hard, do what you say you are going to do, treat people the right way, and do not take yourself too seriously. It shows up outside the warehouse too, in support for the Huntington's Disease Society of America, the SSADH Association, VIP Services, and a roster of local booster clubs, Lions Clubs and parks organizations around Harvard.
What's Next
Badger is currently evaluating a West Coast warehouse location to extend its national reach, improve transit times and add flexibility for scaling clients. The team has also built a network of strategic partners, from contract manufacturers to packaging suppliers and marketing agencies, so clients get more than fulfillment from the relationship.
Badger's leadership puts it this way:
"Badger Fulfillment Group is proud to be a trusted hybrid 3PL with more than nine years of experience serving brands across various industries. We believe the strongest partnerships are built when our clients succeed, which is why we focus on creating scalable, efficient fulfillment solutions that support their long-term growth."
Badger Fulfillment Group is a verified 3PL in the Fulfill.com network. See their full profile, locations and reviews on their Fulfill.com profile. If you are a brand looking for your next fulfillment partner, get matched free by our team.
