DENVER — As the company sharpens the focus of its Emerging Nutrition business, Ardent Mills LLC has launched a review of strategic alternatives for its retail pack facility in Yuba City, Calif. The facility cleans, polishes, sorts and color grades a variety of specialty grains, principally quinoa.

In connection with its strategic review, Ardent Mills also is assessing its collaboration with Colorado Quinoa LLC and an associated cleaning facility in Mosca, Colo.

“As part of our ongoing focus on strategic growth, we’ve made the decision to sell our Yuba City retail pack facility,” said Sheryl Wallace, chief executive officer of Ardent Mills. “This facility has played an important role in producing high-quality, value-added ingredients — and we believe it presents a strong opportunity for the right buyer. This move allows Ardent Mills to drive focus in our Emerging Nutrition business and deliver relevant solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. We remain committed to Emerging Nutrition and the specialty ingredient space.”

Acquired by Ardent Mills in 2020 and part of Emerging Nutrition, the Yuba City operation focuses principally on packaging quinoa and other ancient grains for retail, foodservice and bulk customers. The facility was built in 2015 as Andean Naturals, LLC and has been upgraded since the 2020 acquisition, Ardent Mills said. The 38,000-square-foot facility has the capacity to process up to 4,000 lbs per hour, 200,000 cwts per year. The plant handles organic white, red and black quinoa, as well as tri-color blends and is equipped to process other specialty grains, including amaranth, chia, flax, millet, rice, sorghum and teff.

A year before the Yuba City acquisition, Ardent Mills formed the partnership with Colorado Quinoa LLC to clean, mill and market quinoa grown in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. More recently, it has invested in processing equipment in Mosca “to facilitate market access to domestically grown quinoa from the San Luis Valley,” the company said.

“Ardent Mills believes that consumer demand for quinoa remains strong due to its attractive and on-trend nutritional profile,” the company said. “However, long-term success in this category would require additional investment in complementary capabilities that we are unable to prioritize in the near term.”

The decision to sell the Yuba City operation comes as the company is sharpening the focus of the Emerging Nutrition segment toward its specialty ingredient business. Ardent Mills said quinoa will continue to be offered going forward as part of the company’s broad portfolio of specialty grains.

The Emerging Nutrition segment focuses on alternative grains and other products favored by consumers for health, sustainability and functionality. The Emerging Nutrition product line includes ancient grains, pulses, organic ingredients and specialty flours. Products in the line “provide added nutritional benefits while aligning with trends like high-protein, gluten-free, high-fiber, regenerative agriculture, clean ingredients and clean label formulations,” the company said.