Chicago-based food giant Conagra Brands is building an innovation center in Chicago to create new snacks that appeal to consumers' ever-changing diet demands.
The 40,000-square-foot space will be home to 50 Conagra employees tasked with creating new snack brands, working on everything from recipes to packaging design.
The new innovation center, which is slated to open in the first quarter of 2020, will feature an expansive kitchen and tasting area, where Conagra can interact with customers to get their feedback on new recipes.
Called the Conagra Brands Center for Food Design, the center will be located at 350 N. Orleans St., located nearby its headquarters in the Merchandise Mart, where it employs about 550 people. Conagra moved its corporate headquarters from Omaha, Neb., to Chicago in 2016.
The company still has a Center for Food Design and Technology in Omaha, which focuses on Conagra’s frozen, refrigerated and shelf-stable meals. The Omaha center is also the company’s R&D hub for food safety and technology development.
Tom McGough, the executive vice president and co-chief operating officer of Conagra, said in a statement that the company wants to focus on creating new snack brands in the Chicago innovation center because it is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors in the food industry.
"Our strong snacking portfolio is positioned for long-term growth and we expect the capabilities in this new facility to enable us to create even more innovative products that our consumers will love,” McGough said.
Popular snack brands currently in Conagra’s portfolio include Slim Jim, Jiffy Pop and Swiss Miss. But as consumers are increasingly looking for healthy snack alternatives, Conagra has acquired food upstarts pushing the envelope on what the nutrition label of a snack looks like.
In 2017, Conagra acquired Angie’s Boomchickapop, a non-GMO and gluten-free Popcorn snack, and Duke’s Meats, a “healthy” beef jerky.
Over the last decade, a strong and vibrant food innovation community established itself in Chicago’s startup and tech ecosystem. With legacy food giants like Conagra, McDonald’s and Kraft Heinz being located in Chicago, the region has the foundation for food upstarts to thrive.
RXBAR, the popular whole-food nutrition bar, was acquired by Kellogg in 2017 for $600 million. And since then, several Chicago startups have gained traction for their healthy food and beverage alternatives.
Two local beef jerky startups, Chomps and Prevail, launched recently. Quevos, founded by University of Chicago students Nick Hamburger and Zack Schreier, is making a snack chip made from egg whites. And Tempo, founded by Ryan Crane, is making a sparkling tea beverage.
