InnovAsian Cuisine Enterprises Inc. has broken ground on a $150 million chicken processing facility in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Owned by Nichirei Corporation, InnovAsian selected Gray to design and build the 180,000-sq.-ft. greenfield facility following years of relationship-building and collaboration. While Nichirei currently operates a rice processing facility in California, this project marks its first investment in U.S. chicken processing.
“This groundbreaking marks a significant milestone for InnovAsian and Nichirei as we invest in the future of Jonesboro, Ark., and strengthen our ability to meet growing consumer demand,” said Joe Kent, president and chief executive officer of InnovAsian. “This facility will accelerate our future growth with the production of high-quality Asian cuisine while creating meaningful jobs in the community.”
The chicken processing plant reflects InnovAsian’s long-term growth strategy of expanding domestic protein processing capabilities and strengthening supply chain resiliency to better support demand across retail, foodservice and prepared foods channels.
