Dive Brief:
- Grain Processing Corporation (GPC), one of the Kent Corporation’s family of companies, recently announced plans to acquire a specialty flour milling, manufacturing and warehouse facility in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
- The facility is 64,000 square feet and located on 35 acres. Although the major manufacturer of corn-based products said the future plans for the facility were “still being considered,” a spokesperson did confirm that the “initial use of the site will be as an extension of the Grinnell, Iowa, GPC location and primarily for warehousing or other needs.”
- In July, GPC acquired Grinnell, Iowa-based Natural Products to invest in sustainable food production and cater to the health-conscious and plant-based consumer, Food Business News reported. Until a solid future plan is decided upon, the new Oskaloosa, Iowa, facility will be an extension of the July purchase, and become another specialty flour milling site.
Dive Insight:
GPC’s purchase of the Oskaloosa-based facility may signal future growth for the company in plant-based, clean-label market categories. Currently, high-purity alcohols, corn starches, maltodextrins and corn syrup solids are the company’s main products.
“We will better leverage our soy and chickpea flour production capabilities, while expanding our value-added milling business further,” said Jimmy Kent, president of GPC in a statement regarding plans for the acquisition.
The family-run company saw success with its Grinell, Iowa, purchase of Natural Products, which primarily is used for soy and chickpea milling operations, as it gave the company access to plant-based, non-GMO, organic and gluten-free ingredient solutions to use in its portfolio.
Specialty flours — which are prepared by mixing all-purpose flours with others, such as rye, buckwheat, oat and soy — is expected to grow in demand in the coming years, according to a report from Transparency Market Research. Health-conscious consumers demanding increased transparency around clean labels with non-GMO and organic ingredients are also forcing manufacturers to provide specialty flours with such characteristics.
GPC primarily sells to customers in the spaces of beverage alcohol, food products, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, personal care and industrial starch applications. Now, they are looking to deepen their reach within the plant-based space.
The company has a “vision to continue expanding to meet the desires and dietary requirements of a consistently growing world population,” said Kent in a statement.
