InnovAsian Cuisine, Nichirei Foods' US frozen Asian food maker, will build a 180,000-square-foot plant in Jonesboro, Arkansas, costing more than $150 million and creating about 200 jobs. To fund it, Nichirei set up a new Delaware company, Nichirei Global Foods, under InnovAsian and is putting in about $105 million of capital in stages during 2026. Jonesboro won after a 15-state search, helped by nearby chicken and rice supplies. It is Nichirei's first US chicken processing investment. About InnovAsian InnovAsian is based in Tukwila, Washington, and sells frozen Asian dishes, from multi-serve entrées to rice, sides and appetizers, in grocery stores across the US. Nichirei Foods first invested in it in 2012, and Nichirei calls it the growth engine of its overseas business. The new plant will mainly add capacity for the fast-growing multi-serve entrée line. The site The plant is in Craighead Technology Park, a 2,100-acre industrial park, and grew from a planned 175,000 square feet to 180,000. Gray is designing and building it. Arkansas officials had met Nichirei Foods executives in Tokyo in 2025 to pitch the state, and Nichirei Foods president Masahiko Takenaga attended the groundbreaking.
