Prepared meals and deli solutions manufacturer Deli Star Corp. is planning to start construction on a new headquarters and production facility in St. Louis, MO to replace its former production facilities that were lost to a fire in January 2021, the Missouri Department of Economic Development announced in a release Tuesday.

The company selected Missouri after conducting a search for new locations because of its skilled workforce, low business costs, and high quality of living, according to the state agency. Deli Star is investing $99 million in the project.

“After conducting a thorough search across multiple states, we are thrilled to call Missouri home,” Justin Siegel, the chief executive officer of Deli Star, said in a statement. “The Missouri team, including Missouri Partnership, played a pivotal role in the selection process by understanding our needs and working to support our business expansion and ultimately the state of Missouri. We look forward to a successful future in the Show Me State!”

Projected to go into operation in early 2022, the 110,000-sq-ft site will produce protein products like sous-vide proteins, slow cooked meats, deli logs, protein salads, sauces, and plant-based proteins. The St. Louis facility will be close to Deli Star’s new Food Discovery Center, a food research and development hub.

475 new jobs are expected to be created with the opening of the site.

Deli Star’s project follows on the heels of several other major protein-related capital projects. This April, JBS-owned Swift Prepared Foods revealed plans to build a new $20 million Italian meats and charcuterie production facility in Columbia, MO. St. Louis Italian charcuterie manufacturer Volpi Foods announced last August that it has started work on a new 87,000-sq-ft meat slicing and packaging plant next to its existing prosciutto processing facility in Union, MO.