Specialty food ingredients manufacturer Cereal Ingredients Inc. (CII) plans to construct a new 80,000-sq-ft production facility in St. Joseph, MO, the company announced in a recent release posted to the Missouri Department of Economic Development’s website.

“Cereal Ingredients Inc. is excited to open a state-of-the-art food manufacturing facility in St. Joseph, MO,” the firm’s chief executive officer, Robert Hatch, said in a statement. “The goodwill we have built with our customers has allowed us the opportunity to expand. We appreciate all the help provided by the City of St. Joseph, Chamber of Commerce, Buchanan County, State of Missouri, Newmark Zimmer, and all the other participants who helped finalize this project.”

The firm manufactures food particulates for flavor, texture, and color applications in baked goods, cereals, and other food products, as well as pre-blended mixes that add flavor or swirl effects to bread, textured proteins, and direct expanded plant protein crisps used in plant-based foods. Cereal Ingredients uses patented product and process technology to produce Flav-R-Bites, specialty formulated products that are offered in a variety of sizes, flavors, and textures.

“We are pleased to welcome Cereal Ingredients Inc. to Missouri,” said Gov. Mike Parson in the release. “The company’s decision to invest and create new jobs in Missouri is a testament to the hard-working men and women who call our state home. We look forward to working together as Cereal Ingredients Inc. grows and succeeds.”

About 60 new jobs will be created during the first six years the facility is in operation. Work on the site is expected to reach completion in the first quarter of 2022.