CINCINNATI, Feb. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Kroger (NYSE:
KR) announced today it has opened its Culinary Innovation Center in
downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.
"Kroger's new Culinary Innovation Center is an exciting
state-of-the-art test kitchen and education center," said
Daniel Hammer, Kroger's vice
president of culinary development and new business. "As we focus on
redefining the customer experience and developing talent through
food inspiration and uplift, as outlined in Restock Kroger,
this R&D lab will allow us to accelerate product development
for Our Brands, produce new recipes for Prep + Pared Meal
Kits, explore new restaurant concepts, host food tastings and focus
groups, and increase our associates' culinary knowledge."
Kroger commenced construction on the 12,000-square-feet,
LEED-designed Center in March 2017.
The commercial kitchen features multiple cooking stations, spaces
and capabilities, including technology that allows video streaming
of educational sessions to Kroger associates across the
country.
"The Center gives our culinary team a fun, modern space to
innovate and experiment with food trends, flavors, and ingredients
to create new experiences for our customers," added Mr. Hammer.
Kroger introduced its first restaurant concept Kitchen
1883 in November 2017 and
launched its Prep+Pared Meal Kits earlier in the same year,
which are available for purchase in stores and through ClickList.
Kroger has plans to rapidly grow the footprint of Prep+Pared Meal
Kits in 2018.
"Kroger has operated grocery stores since 1883; we know food.
People will always eat, but the way they eat will always change.
Our new Center is one more tool we have to keep our pulse on
customer trends and expand our foodie culture," said Mr.
Hammer.
About Kroger
At The Kroger Co., we are dedicated to our purpose:
to Feed the Human Spirit™. We are 453,000
associates who serve nearly nine million customers every day in
2,793 retail food stores under a variety of local banner
names in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Our
Family of Companies operates an expanding ClickList offering – a
personalized order online service – in addition to 2,258
pharmacies, 783 convenience stores, 307 fine jewelry stores, 222
retail health clinics, 1,472 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food
production plants in the United
States. Our Company has been recognized as one of America's
most generous companies for our support of more than 100 Feeding
America food bank partners, breast cancer research and awareness,
the military and their families, and more than 145,000 community
organizations including schools. As a leader in supplier diversity,
we are a proud member of the Billion Dollar
Roundtable.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co.