VERONA, NY. — Strong demand for test kitchen, education and marketing services led Certified Angus Beef to convert a warehouse into a new Innovation Center at its campus in Wooster, Ohio. John Stika, president of CAB, made the announcement during the Annual Conference held Sept. 17-20 in Verona.

The Innovation Center is a remodeled, 3,500-square-foot point of sale warehouse that will allow CAB to accommodate more breakout sessions and simultaneously host more groups than the organization is currently able to have at the Culinary Center. CAB hosts more than 1,000 visitors annually for customized experiences ranging from meat science to culinary development to Angus beef production and more.

“One of the things we’ve learned over the last 12 years is that the Culinary Center remains in extremely high demand,” Stika said. “The calendar is always full, and that’s great, but it can create some challenges.

“And so, we’re excited that after the first of the year, we will be opening a new engagement and educational space that we refer to as our Innovation Center,” Stika said. “It’s located directly between our main office and the Culinary Center, and it’s really designed for flexibility and creativity.”

Stika said CAB outgrew the point-of-sale warehouse a few years ago and moved the facility across the street from the main office.

“That left us with this empty space,” he said. “We looked at the demand that’s there from our licensed partners to come and engage. So, we decided what would be a great use for it is to convert it to another functional space for education, engagement; a place that is really built around flexibility and creativity.”

The Culinary Center, which has been operating for 12 years, will continue to serve as the main hub for the test kitchen, but the Innovation Center will open up more opportunities to enable CAB to bring more chefs, restaurateurs, foodservice distributors, retailers, butchers, processors and packers to Worcester and develop products to help grow their skills and businesses.

Additionally, visitors to the CAB headquarters in Worcester can also visit the Chippewa Valley Angus and Certified Angus Educational Farm 10 minutes away from the CAB Culinary Center. The organization acquired 109 acres of Chippewa Valley Angus to bring partners closer to beef production.

“Since acquiring this farm in 2022, it has remained and will continue to be a fully functioning, family driven Angus operation,” Stika said. “At the same time, we’ve been able to invest in elevating the interactive nature of a visit to the farm so that we can spend more time with the people who care for both.”