Mizkan Opens New Research & Development Facility

The Mizkan Americans R&D facility will be housed within the Lake Alfred manufacturing facility, a mainstay in central Florida since 1943. With the R&D addition, the entire manufacturing facility will employ approximately 50 full-time employees.

28 Mar 2012 --- Mizkan Americas, a leading condiment manufacturer has announced it will strengthen its speed to market and offer quicker turn-around times by opening a new Research and Development (R&D) facility in Lake Alfred, Florida. Mizkan Americas’ U.S. headquarters will remain in Mt. Prospect, Illinois.

The new, state-of-the-art facility will help support Mizkan’s vision as the Preeminent Manufacturer and Marketers of Liquid Condiments in North America. The nearly 2,000-square-foot facility will include a large lab area to help centralize the research and development process by offering specific capabilities including pilot scale manufacturing of wine reductions, wine fermentation, mustard milling, and a broader variety of product formulation and blending.

The Mizkan Americans R&D facility will be housed within the Lake Alfred manufacturing facility, a mainstay in central Florida since 1943. With the R&D addition, the entire manufacturing facility will employ approximately 50 full-time employees. The plant produces vinegars, cooking wines, salted spirits, non-alcoholic mixers and wine reductions which support the Food Ingredient, Foodservice and Retail Sales Business Units of Mizkan Americas.

“We’re excited to be expanding in Florida and continuing to accelerate our company’s growth,” said Craig Smith, President of Mizkan EuroAmericas. “With more than 200 years of experience in the vinegar space, this addition underlines our continued commitment to meet or exceed our customer’s expectations and envisioning tomorrow’s needs for innovation.”

The new R&D facility will be managed by Dr. Esmond Joseph. Dr. Joseph earned his Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Food Science from Alabama A & M University and his Doctorate in Food Science from Louisiana State University. Dr. Joseph has more than 25 years of Research and Development experience in the food industry and has worked on various products including dressings, sauces, soups and beverages. His experience also includes work with Sucralose, the High Intensity Sweetener and spent the past five years conducting food applications work for Starches. Dr. Joseph’s previous experiences also include positions with Best Foods/Unilever, McNeil Specialty Products, Campbell Soups Cargill and Morgan Foods.

Mizkan Americas is a leading condiment producer in the United States, selling across all channels of trade including branded retail, private label retail, food service, and food ingredients. Mizkan Americas leading retail condiment brands include Holland House cooking wines, Nakano rice vinegars, World Harbors marinades and sauces and Border Foods, the nation’s oldest and most established processors of green chile, jalapeño and tomatillo peppers and manufacturers of enchilada sauces for both the branded and private label markets. Mizkan is a leading Asian condiment supplier in the retail and foodservice channels of trade. Mizkan’s food ingredients division supplies ingredients to numerous well known food manufacturers across several categories.