SAN FRANCISCO — Diamond Foods, Inc. has opened a new 7,000-plus-square- foot innovation center in Salem, Ore., that is located adjacent to the company’s Kettle brand potato chip facility.
Diamond Foods said the new center features an R.&D. kitchen and laboratory that allows for the development of product samples and simulates preparation processes. The center also features a concept room designed for ideation and customer meetings and a sensory evaluation center for real-time product testing with consumers.
Food scientists and sensory specialists will be on hand at the site, as will marketing, packaging and regulatory experts who the company said will develop product ideas through “the lens of all the disciplines.”
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| Driscoll, president and c.e.o. of Diamond Foods. |
“We are not just putting a stake in the ground, but an entire foundation and infrastructure committed to innovation and market leadership, as well as an experienced forward-thinking team to take advantage of it,” said Brian Driscoll, president and chief executive officer. “Several retail customers have already visited the innovation center for joint collaboration meetings and recognize the potential for new product development this facility and the team affords.”
Diamond Foods’ snack brands include Kettle, Emerald, Pop Secret and Diamond of California. The company’s products are distributed in a range of stores where snacks and culinary nuts are sold.
