Ferrero North America, part of the global confectionery company Ferrero Group, has unveiled plans to open an Innovation Center in Chicago’s Marshall Field and Company Building.
The move will take place over two phases, with all current Ferrero Chicago employees moving to a temporary office space while construction is completed on the final space. The final office at the Marshall Field & Co. building is set to be complete by spring of 2023.
The 45,000-square-foot facility will bring Ferrero’s R&D teams throughout the US and house employees from Ferrero’s Old Post Office location representing Fannie May, Nutella Café, Keebler, Famous Amos, Mother’s and other distinctive cookie brands in the Ferrero portfolio.
Creating synergies
The company’s goal for this space is to reflect Ferrero’s unique heritage and provide an opportunity to create more synergies among its teams.
“This new space will foster the collaboration, creativity and culture that Ferrero is known for around the world,” says Todd Siwak, president and chief business officer of Ferrero North America.
“I believe this innovation center will propel our teams forward to become leaders in the sweet packaged foods category.”
The innovation center, R&D lab, and offices on the eighth and ninth floors at 24 East Washington will bring about 170 cross-functional team members to Chicago’s Loop neighborhood.
“Chicago is a global destination for innovation. Ferrero will be well-placed here, benefitting from the city’s connectivity to the world and its strong network of companies driven by tech and innovation,” says Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot.
The announcement is the latest in a series of milestones in Ferrero’s growth in North America.
The company is building a chocolate processing facility and a new plant to make Kinder Bueno products in Bloomington, Illinois and is expanding capacity in its Brantford, Ontario plant.
The 169,000 square foot addition will be dedicated to producing Kinder Bueno bars and minis and represents the first time Kinder products will be made in North America.
In the past few years, it has opened new distribution centers in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona and expanded its North American headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey.
Edited by Elizabeth Green
Source: foodingredientsfirst.com
Currently chief executive of GreenV – an international group of companies active in the horticultural sector – van Karnebeek spent a large portion of his career at Heineken, working in commercial, marketing and general management positions. He served as chief commercial officer at the Dutch brewer from 2015 until 2021.
The facility combines the existing Kerry office in Barcelona with a new customer suite and application labs. It will enable the company to work more closely with its customers in Southern Europe to develop food and beverage solutions.
The sweet and culinary flavor creation labs are the latest addition to the company’s expansive campus that has been in operation since 1964, spanning more than 312,150 square feet in Brabrand, Denmark. The innovation hub is home to more than 400 employees engaged in research, application development, ingredient and flavor creation.
