Collaborative Problem Solving Under One Roof Empowers Faster Concept-to-Commercialization

Rubix Foods, a leading culinary and food science-focused provider of flavor and functional ingredients for restaurants and food manufacturers, announced the grand opening of its highly anticipated new Innovation Center on September 20, 2022. The 50,000-square-foot “facility of the future” is tailor-made to streamline and accelerate the innovation process on behalf of the company’s customers, which includes many of the world’s most recognized food brands.

“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 CEO Andy Block.

The Rubix Foods Innovation Center includes:

• Show Kitchen: State-of-the-art show kitchen for in-person and virtual demonstrations.
• R&D Lab: Top-of-the-line R&D lab for prototype development and evaluation.
• R&D Test Kitchen: Industry-leading R&D test kitchen with advanced equipment to mimic customers’ operations.
• Pilot Plants: Two cutting-edge pilot plants to simulate real-world manufacturing.
• Consumer Insights: Full-scale sensory panel and dedicated market research and consumer insight facilities.
• Quality Assurance Lab: Extensive food safety and quality assurance capabilities.

The company operates as a full-service problem-tackling partner across the gamut of culinary, scientific, marketing and logistics challenges. To underscore this point of difference within the industry, Block explained: “We’re here for collaboration, not credit. The Rubix Foods Innovation Center was built as much for our customers as it was for us. We tell them, ‘this is (y)our Innovation Center,’ and we encourage them to visit us to take full advantage of the tools and talent available to them here.”

The preeminent food and beverage private equity firm Arbor Investments announced its investment and partnership with the company in April 2019.  The firm has a track record of driving transformative growth and innovation at its portfolio companies. Soon after closing the partnership, Arbor and Rubix broke ground on the new facility in October 2020 and rebranded the company from Darifair Foods to Rubix Foods in October 2021.

“Today’s ribbon cutting of this impressive building marks a significant milestone in the evolution of Rubix Foods,” said Arbor Investments Partner Alan Weed.  “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. Based on the overwhelmingly 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.”

Rubix welcomes food industry visitors for customized tours, demonstrations, and problem-solving sessions at 13203 Flagler Center Blvd. in Jacksonville. To schedule a visit, email collaborate@rubixfoods.com or visit the Innovation Center page here.