Who Owns Kerr Concentrates?

Kerr Concentrates was founded in 1928 in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The company was established to serve food and beverage manufacturers with natural fruit and vegetable concentrates, purees, and essences. The Pacific Northwest region, particularly Oregon's Willamette Valley, provided abundant access to apples, pears, cherries, berries, and other fruits that served as raw materials for concentrate production.

The company developed expertise in vacuum-based evaporation technology, a process that concentrates fruit and vegetable juices while preserving their natural flavor, color, and nutritional properties. This technology remains the foundation of Kerr's product offering. The concentration process removes water from fresh juices, reducing shipping weight and extending shelf life while maintaining the sensory characteristics that food manufacturers require.

Through the 1990s and 2000s, Kerr expanded its customer base among food and beverage manufacturers seeking natural ingredient solutions. The company's products found applications in beverages, dairy products, baked goods, sauces, condiments, and other food categories where fruit and vegetable ingredients provide flavor, color, and nutritional value. Kerr's customer relationships with major food and beverage manufacturers gave it a stable revenue base.

The clean-label trend accelerated significantly through the 2000s and 2010s. Consumers increasingly demanded food products with recognizable, natural ingredients rather than artificial flavors and colors. Food manufacturers reformulating products to remove synthetic ingredients turned to natural fruit and vegetable concentrates as replacements. This trend expanded Kerr's addressable market and made the company an attractive acquisition target for larger ingredient companies seeking to add natural capabilities to their portfolios.

By the time of the Ingredion acquisition in 2015, Kerr Concentrates had annual revenues of approximately $75 million and employed approximately 82 people. The company was relatively small in revenue terms but held strategic value through its processing expertise, Pacific Northwest sourcing relationships, and established customer base in the natural ingredients market.

Ingredion acquired Kerr Concentrates in July 2015 for approximately $100 million in cash. The acquisition occurred simultaneously with Ingredion's acquisition of Penford Corporation, a potato starch and specialty starches company. The dual acquisitions represented a significant step in Ingredion's shift toward specialty ingredients. Ingredion's rationale was to add natural fruit and vegetable concentrates to its portfolio, complementing its existing starch and sweetener products with clean-label ingredients aligned with consumer trends.

Following the acquisition, Kerr continued to operate from its Salem, Oregon base under the Kerr brand name, later rebranded as Kerr by Ingredion. The brand maintains its own website, sales team, and product development operations. Ingredion has invested in Kerr's capabilities, including the launch of FUSERA clean-label solutions in 2026, which incorporate Kerr fruit and vegetable ingredients into broader formulation systems for sugar reduction without added sugars or artificial ingredients.

In 2024, Kerr by Ingredion achieved Upcycled Certification from the Upcycled Food Association for a selection of its fruit and vegetable products. The certification covers products made from imperfect watermelons and dark sweet cherries that do not meet retail-grade specifications for size and color but are nutritionally equivalent to retail-grade produce. This initiative reduces food waste while maintaining product quality.

As of 2026, Kerr by Ingredion employs approximately 30 to 40 people and continues to operate from Salem, Oregon. The brand markets its products through Ingredion's global sales network and at industry events such as IFT FIRST, where Ingredion showcased Kerr ingredients as part of its FUSERA clean-label solutions platform in July 2026.