Dive Brief:

• Clif Bar will spend at least $90 million to build a new facility to manufacturer its energy bars and its Kid Z bars.
• The new plant will house two baking lanes and employ up to 250 people. Additional lines would be added if market conditions allow. A total of six lines are possible, the company said.
• The "Magic Valley" area around Twin Falls has become a food-manufacturing hub seemingly overnight. Chobani recently spent $413 million on new facilities in the area. And within hours of Clif Bar's announcement, Portugal's Frucalt announced plans to build a plant in Rupert. 

Dive Insight:

We have a thing for Clif Bar...as apparently many people do.The brand has become the dominant player in the energy-bar business. But our affection is based less in the product than it is in the company. Clif Bar's founder is famous for refusing a lucrative buy-out offer and for creating a remarkable and healthy places to work. We suspect Clif Bar is going to fit in quite well in Twin Falls, where even the very elderly enjoy the outdoors and the adventurous life.