Bell Flavors warehouse acquisition to aid long-term expansion

07-Jun-2011 - Last updated on 08-Jun-2011 at 15:04 GMT

Related tags Flavor

Bell Flavors and Fragrances has acquired an 85,000 square foot warehouse adjacent to its corporate headquarters in Northbrook, Illinois, which it says is logistically well-placed for long-term business expansion.

Bell plans to create a link between the two buildings over the next few months, in order to bring both spaces under one roof.

Speaking to FoodNavigator-USA, the company’s director of marketing Michael Natale said that discussions about how the building will be used are ongoing, but plans should be finalized and announced in the coming months.

“Everyone agreed that the one thing we were lacking was space, and now we have that,” he said.

The company said in a statement that its domestic and international business has grown rapidly over the past five years, meaning that extra room at its Northbrook facility will be critical to its long-term growth.

Natale said that in terms of flavors, the particular areas driving growth at the company have been flavor enhancers and its line of sodium replacers, as well as continuing innovation in new flavors.

“With the commodity market the way it is, the replacers and extenders are doing well,” he said, citing the company’s flavor solutions for extending cocoa and vanilla, and its lemon, lime and honey flavors, which he said can entirely replace these commodities in some applications.

Among its more innovative flavor combinations, Natale said the company has also developed a range of flavors for confectionery to go ‘beyond exotic’, including combinations such as black tea and soy sauce, and pineapple and cilantro.

Commenting on the acquisition, Bell president and CEO James Heinz said: “This warehouse building acquisition will allow Bell critical space for enhancing all areas of our business with the goal to bring even further value to our customers and the markets we service.”