"Aggressive transformation": Nellson announces US$70m investment in new facility

16 Mar 2018 --- A US$70 million investment in a new nutrition bar manufacturing plant in Ontario, California has been announced by Nellson Nutraceutical (Nellson), a North American formulator and manufacturer of branded and private label nutritional bars and functional powders. 

“Our investment of about US$70 million in the Ontario facility, along with our recent acquisition of Genysis Brand Solutions are the latest steps in Nellson’s aggressive transformation under the ownership of Kohlberg & Company, and reflect our determination to be the co-manufacturing partner of choice for the leading brands in the nutritional bar and functional powder marketplace,” says Jean Filion, Nellson’s Chief Operating Officer and President of Nellson Canada.

“Our new R&D Collaboration Center enhances our ability to work with brand partners on the next generation of bars, providing custom formulation, benchtop replication and consumer samples and testing,” he adds.

The “state of the art facility” serves to strengthen Nellson’s market position in nutritional bar co-manufacturing, according to the manufacturer. 

“Our goal was to construct a world-class nutrition bar facility that would provide our brand customers unmatched R&D expertise and the latest process and manufacturing innovations for nutrition bars as well as a first-rate working environment for our employees,“ said Jamie Better, Chief Executive Officer of Nellson.

“This is the first new facility of its kind in North America in at least the last 16 years, and is an important strategic investment for Nellson, as we gear up to meet customers’ rapidly evolving demands in a dynamic nutrition market across multiple segments, including sports performance, wellness, weight management, functional and medical nutrition,” he adds.

Nellson’s new Ontario facility at a glance:
•    300,000 sq. ft. space offering brand confidentiality, allergen control, food safety, efficient sanitation and flexible capabilities.
•    In-line process capabilities which could enable new formats, such as slabbed and extruded bites, triple layer bars and custom shapes.
•    In-line dual mixing capabilities with the ability to blend a range of ingredients, from cereal or crisp based layers to dense, high protein doughs.
•    High-speed packaging capabilities
•    R&D Collaboration Center to support customer formulation, commercial scale-up and consumer testing.
•    Energy efficient systems, aiming to conserve energy, water and to reduce waste
•    Space for future expansions

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