“We are fortunate to have great leaders like Blake making a difference on our team.” commented Andy Tudor, vice president of business development, “He brings years of experience and wisdom to this new role.”

The mill enhancement is in response to rapidly increasing customer demand in segments such as artisan baking, brewing and distilling, food service and retail foods.

For example, in a FoodDive article on packaging fails, there is the story about Sun Chips' biodegradable bag made from plants. What Millennial wouldn't love that? But sales began to decline shortly after launch because the bag made a loud "grumbling" noise that consumers said reminded them of a jet engine or lawnmower.

Callisons House of Flavor is an open concept workspace designed to give customers a seat at the table. With an in-house kitchen and laboratory, partners are able to taste test flavors in real time.

CDI has offered positions to all of the facility’s current employees so they can continue its valuable roles within the operation.

Fruitlift is an all-natural, liquid based ingredient - composed of 90% fruit components and designed to be injected into the flour mix of puffed cereals to replace white refined sugar.

Caliva has quickly become a market leader in cannabis consumer products in California, which represents more than 35% of the overall United States legal cannabis market.

KNH is a leading plant-based, better-for-you food company with operations in the United States and Canada.

"Pre aligns perfectly with consumer trends, tastes terrific and is winning in the market," states Ponticelli. "Everyone in our organization is committed to scaling the business successfully as we expand nationwide and continue to build the Pre brand."

To help emerging consumer brands reach new customers and grow their business, the new platform will leverage Kroger’s merchandising capabilities and predictive analytics along with Lindsay Goldberg’s deep consumer expertise and nearly 20-year track record of investing in and supporting family-owned and founder-led companies.