JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Flavor and functional ingredients producer Rubix Foods officially opened its new innovation center.

The 50,000-square-foot center aims to streamline and accelerate the timeline on innovations for the company’s restaurant and food manufacturer clientele.

“Here we have all the talent, technology and tools to deliver food innovation from research to rollout, all under one roof at unparalleled speed — a fully commercialized formula ready in days rather than months,” said Andy Block, chief executive officer of Rubix.

Included in the new center is a show kitchen for demonstrations, an R&D lab for prototype development and an R&D test kitchen, two pilot plants to simulate manufacturing and dedicated market research and consumer insight facilities.

Block said the center will operate as a collaborative space to help customers solve problems across the culinary, scientific, marketing and logistics spheres, differentiating it from similar projects in the industry.

Construction began on the full-service center in October 2020 as part of the company’s 2019 partnership with Arbor Investments, Chicago, a private equity firm.

“From the onset of our investment, we recognized that the company was an epicenter of truly innovative food technology but lacked a world-class facility to foster in-person problem solving with customers,” said Alan Weed, partner at Arbor Investments. “Based on the overwhelming positive response and new projects initiated from recent customer visits, the investment in the new innovation center is already paying dividends for Rubix and its customers.”