Family Business Innovation: performance analysis in food ingredients industry

Kemin is a family business set up by Rolland and Mary Nelson in 1961 in Des Moines (Iowa). Its core business is the production of ingredients and nutritional solutions. At the beginning, they had two product lines, an office in their family room and a manufacturing plant in an old wool barn. The founders, who are still active in the business today, have started by serving the animal food market with ingredients such as antioxidants, flavors and mold inhibitors. From these humble beginnings, Kemin has grown to serve the needs of customers in the global feed and food industries as well as the health, nutrition and beauty markets. Kemin is more than a supplier to their worldwide customers. It’s a researcher, a resource, and a partner. Kemin is a company commitmented to innovation and technology. Through constant innovation it creates innovative products for different industries. There are many factors that lead the company to continuous investments in research and development. Among these: - Market trends - Competition - New types of consumers - Company philosophy (constant innovation) - The need to improve Innovation in Family Business is identified with the need and the courage to keep doing what you can do best. Kemin today is currently composed of 14 independent operating units, each with their own president. Together, they produce more than 500 ingredients to serve their customers. The net sales reached in 2014 was $585 million.