Ohio has proven to be a particularly valuable location for Nestlé, as the company has invested nearly $98 million in its Ohio operations since 2015.

Earlier this year, Nestlé, the world’s largest food and beverage company, spent $16.8 million to expand its Solon campus. As part of the expansion, Nestlé relocated 300 jobs of its technical and production organization and all supply chain teams from California to the Solon campus, which now employs more than 2,000 employees.

The 60-acre campus serves as headquarters for Nestlé’s frozen food, baking, pizza and snack divisions as well as for Nestlé professional and business services. Referred to as the company’s Center for Excellence for frozen and chilled foods, the campus is also home to a $50 million R&D center that opened in 2015.

The experts at Nestlé R&D Solon campus focus on creating products that taste good but also meet the company’s nutrition requirements. The R&D team explores ways to reduce sodium and fat, eliminate partially hydrogenated oils and incorporate more vegetables. They also provide technical assistance to Nestlé production facilities around the world as well as guidance in the areas of nutrition, food quality, food safety and food processing.

Ohio’s competitive business climate, proximity to Nestlé factories and key markets in the United States, and availability of well-trained and highly skilled talent help explain why Nestlé continues to invest in and grow its product testing and R&D capabilities in Ohio.

In addition to the Solon campus, Nestlé’s presence in Ohio includes other important product testing and R&D facilities, including its Nestlé Quality Assurance Center (NQAC) in Dublin. Nestlé has expanded the Dublin NQAC a few times over the years, most recently in 2016. The company invested $31 million to renovate a chemistry lab and add a 32,000-square-foot microbiology lab and $10 million worth of testing equipment. Today the Dublin NQAC, which is staffed by more than 220 chemists, microbiologists, food scientists and quality specialists, is the company’s largest and most sophisticated food testing laboratory, serving as the lead NQAC for all Nestlé businesses in the Americas. Every Nestlé product sold in the United States is tested at the Dublin NQAC.

Rounding out Nestlé’s R&D presence in Ohio is the company’s Product Technology Center in Marysville, which specializes in the development of tea, premium coffee and ready-to-drink beverages.

Ohio has the right ingredients to help Nestlé and other food processing companies grow.