Our Purpose
CII exists to deliver innovations for better food and stronger communities – today and for generations to come – by viewing every challenge as an opportunity to bring new ideas to life in a reliable, adaptable and sustainable way that puts our customers and our people first.
CII strives to be a support for our customers regardless of their needs. Whether it is a sudden, unexpected demand, assistance with their process or manufacturing, or a custom formulation to align with specific product labeling, health or nutritional claim, we go the extra mile to be our customers best business partner to help them succeed. To support historical customer needs, we have added facility certifications and even purchased new equipment. We strive to find a path forward and rarely find an obstacle we cannot overcome.
Our Story
At CII, we believe that every challenge represents a new opportunity to generate a greater impact, not just for our customers but for the world around us.
This belief to research, develop and market unique, new food ingredients started long before we were founded in 1990. Our founder, Mr. Robert Hatch, began his work in generating global impact back in 1984 when co-founding The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), a pioneering microfinance organization enabling those with scarce resources to borrow, invest and grow their businesses. Through his experiences, Mr. Hatch saw how ownership in a business helps foster stronger communities for the future. This established the foundation of CII, and has continued as a guiding principle for how the company operates today.
Mr. Hatch’s early vision continues to guide all of us at CII in our purpose of delivering innovations for better food and stronger communities. We take a people-first approach to everything we do. That means, we are committed to:
- Delivering for our customers through integrity-driven partnerships, high-quality products, and consistently dependable service.
- Empowering our employees to be their best, building a sustainable future for themselves and their families.
- Looking beyond our walls to strengthen our communities by investing our time and resources in the creation of a future we can all be proud of, whether in our hometown of Leavenworth, Kansas or in communities around the world.
We take pride in the positive impact we can have on the world around us and take great care to live out our purpose by acting responsibly and continually evaluating our supply chain, products and practices to ensure we are delivering better food for stronger communities.
Our emphasis on innovation, giving back to our community and sustainability positions CII as a leading force for good in the food industry and pushes us to deliver on our mission of better food and stronger communities today and for generations to come. No matter the challenge, we look forward to collaborating with our customers to bring food ideas to life through sustainable, innovative and unique solutions that meet the diverse needs of people around the world.
Our Values
Our Team
At CII, we believe that our employees are the key to success and our most important asset.
Our Team
At CII, we believe that our employees are the key to success and our most important asset.
Our Team
At CII, we believe that our employees are the key to success and our most important asset.
Community Impact
CII strives to be a force for good in the world. We are determined to make a positive impact – not just for our customers – but for our employees and their families, the communities we are a part of, our suppliers and the world.
The USDA’s latest Household Food Insecurity in the United States report states that more than 35 million people in the United States experienced hunger in 2019, and around 10.5% of U.S. households experienced food insecurity at some point during the year.
Despite this great need, food waste is estimated at between 30-40% of the U.S. food supply. With so much food wasted while so many go hungry, CII and our partners in the food industry have an obligation to critically examine what can be done to improve the situation.
We have a responsibility to our community and future generations to develop efficient manufacturing practices, utilize resources to the best of our ability, and reduce waste. At CII, we create and refine our product lines to emphasize food solutions that can be used by food recovery programs, distribution organizations, and animal feed operations to reduce food waste that would otherwise be sent to landfills. We are united with our community partners not only in this effort to fight food insecurity, but in many other initiatives that create lasting improvement.
CII donates both time and money to multiple philanthropic causes dedicated to improving our community and the rest of the world. In 2020 our team had 130 volunteer hours due to Covid restrictions. As we move forward, we are hoping to exceed these hours in 2021.
