Kroger to Upgrade Roundy’s Commissary

Prepared soups are a key focus of the changes that The Kroger Co. plans to make at its Roundy’s commissary in Kenosha, Wis.

The Cincinnati-based grocery retailer, which acquired Roundy’s two years ago, eventually expects to produce up to 50 million pounds of soup annually for Kroger-owned stores across the country, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

The $19.2 million project calls for dairy-processing operations at the site to be moved to another location to make way for the expansion of soup production. The commissary, built by Milwaukee-based Roundy’s, makes prepared food products for Mariano’s Fresh Market stores in the Chicago area and Pick ‘n Save, Copps and Metro Market stores in Wisconsin.

Kroger operates 38 food production facilities that serve 2,800 nearby stores under an array of banners across the United States.

The 117,000-square-foot commissary currently employs 210 people; those jobs would be retained, with up to 15 more positions added as part of the reconfiguration, the Journal Sentinel reported.