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Home Chef opens Atlanta-area production center

New facility to extend Kroger Co. meal brand’s reach in the Southeast

Russell Redman

July 19, 2022

2 Min Read
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Home Chef said the new facility in Douglasville, Ga., is its first to include a full-service kitchen for cooking and batch production of ingredients to be used in the brand’s meals.Home Chef/Kroger Co.

Meal solutions provider Home Chef, part of The Kroger Co., has expanded its Southeast footprint to a new production center that brings more capacity and additional efficiencies.

Chicago-based Home Chef said Tuesday that it has leased a 181,000 square-foot location at 2120 Skyview Dr. in Douglasville, Ga., about 20 miles west of Atlanta. The new facility marks Home Chef’s first to incorporate a full-service kitchen for cooking and batch production of ingredients to be used in the brand’s meals, the company noted. Going forward, the 6,000 square-foot kitchen will handle the cooking of vegetables, starches and grains, as well as in-house sauce production.

In addition, the Douglasville production center marks Home Chef's first single-tenant facility and is equipped with state-of-the-art features such as an upgraded food-safe material design, cleaning processes and facility flow, the meals company reported.

“Our Atlanta facility is a foundational part of delivering high-quality meals to our customers in the South and beyond,” Erik Jensen, CEO of Home Chef, said in a statement. “This brand new center will make our production and distribution even more efficient so we can continue to bring fans easy, delicious recipes.”

Home Chef said it offers simple recipes in a variety of formats, ranging from “minimal mess” Oven-Ready and Fast & Fresh meal kits to the Culinary Collection for more adventurous home cooks and add-ons like protein packs, salads, desserts and more.

Related:Kroger’s Home Chef elevates Erik Jensen to CEO

With operations in the South since 2017, Home Chef added that the Douglasville facility  will serve both its e-commerce meal delivery service and retail products businesses. The new location also will bring 700 new jobs, and the company said it’s working with the Elevate Douglas Economic Partnership on workforce initiatives, including job fairs for salaried and hourly roles.

Home Chef was acquired by Kroger in mid-2018 and has since rolled out its products to over 2,200 Kroger Co. stores nationwide and entered new categories. In quarterly earnings calls, Kroger executives have cited strong sales for Home Chef since the pandemic, and last fall the brand reached sales of $1 billion. Jensen became Home Chef CEO this past February, succeeding founder Pat Vihtelic, who is slated to serve on the company’s advisory board to the end of 2022.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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