Once a new headquarters building for Sysco Iowa Inc. opens early next year, customers will be able to see, smell and taste samples of the food services company’s products as they’re prepared in front of them.

Two state-of-the-art test kitchens and a product display area will be key features of the 20,000-square-foot facility under construction at Sysco’s existing distribution complex in Ankeny.

“Sysco is doing this at other locations as well,” said Ron Dillon, director of support services for Sysco Iowa. Each cooking demonstration will be digitally recorded so that customers will leave with a customized disc they can use in their sales presentations, Dillon said. The dual kitchens will enable Sysco to accommodate two separate clients simultaneously.

“The goal is to help grow our sales, and in growing our sales, we’ll help our customers grow at the same time,” Dillon said.

The $4.7 million facility, which is expected to be completed by the end of December, will replace the existing headquarters building, which will be demolished after the move into the new facility in mid-January. In November 2010 the Iowa Economic Development Board awarded the company tax incentives from the High Quality Jobs program for the project.

A division of Sysco Corp., a Texas-based Fortune 500 company with $39 billion in annual sales, Sysco Iowa sells, markets and distributes food products, equipment and supplies to restaurants, health-care and educational facilities, hotels and other customers.

The Iowa division moved its operations to Ankeny 11 years ago from a location on Grand Avenue in Des Moines. Sysco Iowa currently employs 258 people at its Ankeny location, which encompasses about 280,000 square feet of warehouse space on Shurfine Drive in southeast Ankeny.

The new headquarters building was designed by Woodruff Design LLC and is being built by Woodruff Construction LLC, both Iowa-based companies. The new facility will have separate employee and customer entrances, along with a separate entrance for customers to pick up will-call orders.

The building will also have offices for Sysco managers and support staff, along with three multimedia meeting rooms and two multipurpose rooms to accommodate presentations and classes for Sysco’s salespeople and customers.“The office portion will be a little larger and more up-to-date,” Dillon said. “The biggest improvements will be having a sales training area, the product displays and the customer kitchen area.”