TAURA expansion at IFF Cedar Rapids facility is ‘significant milestone’

As International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) evaluated possible sites for its first TAURA fruit ingredient production facility in the United States, Cedar Rapids rose to the top based on several key criteria, IFF leaders said after a groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility Wednesday afternoon. “Our facility has been around since 1991, and it's been very successful within IFF,” plant manager Joe Kilburg said. “We’re a large facility, so we have the ability to expand. We also have existing infrastructure that we can utilize. And we'll share steam and water usage (with the main IFF plant).” The $70 million TAURA facility will also stress sustainability, Mr. Kilburg said, including incorporating efficient heat recovery systems, minimizing energy and water consumption and “utilizing reusable methods of raw materials handling.”

Suzanne Pera, vice president and general for North America food ingredients at IFF, noted that it’s not a coincidence that Cedar Rapids was chosen for the TAURA expansion from among 11 IFF food ingredient manufacturing facilities in the United States. “A lot of stars have to align for a facility to be born,” Ms. Pera said. “You're here on the birth date, but it was a long journey ahead of it – a skilled workforce, having the utilities there, having support from the local government.” In a follow-up interview, Ms. Pera noted that IFF has a “really strict selection process” for expansion sites, focusing on about 10 key factors.

“All those things have to align,” Ms. Pera said. “Some of those plants might have eight out of 10 of those things, but then they don't have space. So here, it all came together with everything that Joe mentioned. It’s taken us quite a bit of time to make this selection, and we’re super happy that we found the space.” John Luebbers, global commercial lead for Taura by IFF, said the TAURA expansion in Cedar Rapids is a “significant milestone” for the company. “Cedar Rapids represents a major step forward in our mission around production capability and meeting the growing demand around our products, leveraging the latest technologies and sustainable practices,” Mr. Luebbers said. “We're going to set some new industry standards and unparalleled value to our customers.” When the 47,000-square-foot expansion is fully operational in the latter half of 2026, it’s projected to create up to 40 new jobs, all above the state’s high-quality job wage threshold. At a meeting in January, the Cedar Rapids City Council approved incentives for the project under the city’s high-quality jobs economic program. The project is eligible for a standard incentive, a 10-year declining-scale exemption of increased value generated by the development. This project is expected to generate $2 million in new tax revenue over a 10-year period, of which $900,000 would be exempted. Ms. Pera said the United States has been IFF’s largest market for fruit ingredients, and the TAURA division has been one of its fastest-growing product lines. She noted that 74% of Americans report eating at least one snack a day, “and if those can be healthy fruit snacks, that's fantastic for us,” she said. According to Ms. Para, TAURA produces “clean-label fruit pieces that allow our customers to formulate long shelf-life products with a natural appeal.” Products with TAURA ingredients, she said, include cereals with fruit pieces, snack bars with a fruit paste layer, standalone fruit snacks that might include healthy ingredients such as chia seeds or quinoa, or as fruit components in baked goods. TAURA is an ingredient in other companies’ products, and as such, the company doesn’t have products directly to consumers.

Annette Higgins, IFF’s vice president of food ingredient marketing and communications, said the company sees an ever-expanding demand for TAURA’s products. “The market for healthy snacks is growing rapidly, especially in the U.S.,” she said. “So as we look at the TAURA product line, which is natural and plant-based, that really resonates strongly with that type of offering that consumers are looking for. We know snacking is a big part of this, and that trend fits in perfectly with what we can offer with TAURA.” TAURA products are based on real fruit and manufactured through a proprietary process, company leaders said. According to Ms. Higgins, TAURA was founded in 1973 in Tauranga, New Zealand, providing the origin of the name the company still uses today. IFF acquired TAURA in 2018, Ms. Higgins said, and TAURA currently has production facilities in New Zealand and Belgium. Currently, IFF imports all of the TAURA products used in the United States from those two plants, Ms. Pena said, so launching TAURA production in the U.S. will eliminate the need for those imports, thereby increasing efficiency and lowering costs. “We already have a large U.S. demand for the end product, and we're importing the entire product (from) Belgium and in New Zealand, and we ship the entire product to the U.S.,” she said. “The vision is really local for local – what you produce here, you sell here. So whatever we're already selling in the U.S. from those two other plants, we can shift some of that production here. What you want to do with a new plant is fill ‘er up, so we can transfer some of that existing supply into the U.S.” Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said the expansion is “a big darn deal” for Cedar Rapids, and praised the company’s commitment to the community and to sustainability. “This kind of innovation in food manufacturing really does reflect, we hope, the direction that you know this industry is heading, and we are happy to be a part of that in Cedar Rapids,” she said. “Certainly, we've seen the investment already, all while reflecting a forward-thinking approach to sustainability and innovation. We'd love to hear how you are using our water and using it responsibly and sustainably. We have a very intentional Climate Action Plan in Cedar Rapids, and we know that your commitment to our environment is as strong as ours. We've built a reputation over the years here where business and community moved together side by side. We're either a big, small town or a small, big city, however you want to say it. We consider you neighbors here, and we look forward to watching you succeed alongside the city.” Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, also attended the groundbreaking, and noted the project “should excite all of us, because it checks so many boxes in Iowa, things we’ve talked about, innovation and cutting-edge technology, sustainability and public-private partnership. But it also cements IFF’s longstanding commitment to Iowa … while leveraging all we have to offer, including an unwavering commitment to manufacturers and innovation.” The expansion will complement the existing Cedar Rapids plant, which currently produces enzymes used in food, household and personal care, and animal nutrition products, as well as biofuels production. There’s also potential for more expansions in Cedar Rapids, Mr. Kilburg said. The IFF plant sits on about 80 acres, and only about 40 acres are currently being used. Construction of the new facility will begin in earnest next week, and Mr. Kilburg said completion is set for late summer or early fall of 2026. The Cedar Rapids IFF facility was first opened by Genencor in 1991 and was renamed to Dupont Industrial Biosciences in 2011 when Danisco, Genencor’s corporate parent, was acquired by DuPont, which then merged with International Flavors & Fragrances in 2020. The Cedar Rapids plant has been expanded several times, most recently with a $22.2 million project announced in March 2024 to build a new 9,000-square-foot metal building for on-site steam generation to supply the company’s operations. Mr. Kilburg said the TAURA expansion will be the largest in the plant’s history. IFF currently employs more than 200 workers in Cedar Rapids. Globally, IFF generates around $13 billion in sales, including $3 billion in food ingredients. About $1 billion of those sales are in the U.S, Ms. Pera said.