Company news information may be sent to brice.w@thecityjournals.com.
DIRECT SALES
• USANA, a Salt Lake City-based company offering nutrition and lifestyle products, has had its flagship CellSentials supplement earn the ConsumerLab.com Seal of Approval. To earn the Seal of Approval, CellSentials underwent extensive independent testing to verify potency, purity and label accuracy. CellSentials aims to provide a comprehensive foundation for health, supporting immune function, promoting physical and mental performance, and helping protect long-term vitality.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Eighty-three percent of Utah workers say the federal government should step in with a law explicitly protecting employees from being replaced by AI, according to research by global workforce solutions provider Careerminds. Asked about which protection matters most, 40 percent said human review of all major decisions; 30 percent said transparency about AI use; and 10 percent each said guaranteed retraining options, guaranteed compensation or notice before any AI-driven replacement and limits on AI surveillance. Among other findings, 84 percent say employers should be legally required to disclose any use of AI in hiring, promotions or evaluations, and 32 percent fear being quietly replaced by AI. Details are at https://careerminds.com/blog/ai-protection-report.
• Not saving or investing earlier in life is the top regret of Utah seniors, according to a survey of 65-year-olds by life insurance agency Choice Mutual. Other regrets are, in order, not prioritizing health and fitness sooner, not traveling more when they had the chance, letting fear or self-doubt hold them back, not spending enough time with family, staying in a relationship they should have left sooner, letting important relationships fade, not pursuing a passion or dream, not planning well for retirement, and avoiding tough conversations. Details are at https://choicemutual.com/original-research/what-american-seniors-regret-most/.
• The typical home in the Salt Lake City/Murray metro area was built in 1989, making it 35 years old, which is newer than the national median of 43 years, according to a study by Construction Coverage, an online publisher of construction industry research reports. This report covers housing stock data for nearly 400 metros and all 50 states. Among all U.S. metros, the Salt Lake City/Murray metro’s housing stock ranks 280th-oldest in the country. Among the 55 large metros specifically, the housing stock ranks No. 42, or 14th-newest. The share of homes in the local market built before 1980 is 39.1 percent, compared with 48.1 percent nationally. Those built locally before 1940 account for 7 percent, compared with 11.5 percent nationally. Those built since 2010 make up 21.9 percent of the local market, compared with 13.8 percent nationally. Construction Coverage notes that buyers of older homes are much more likely to face higher upkeep costs, potential repairs and energy inefficiencies compared to newer homes. Details are at https://constructioncoverage.com/research/cities-with-the-oldest-homes.
• Utahns want their AI assistants to speak in a Southern accent, according to a study by word search tool The Word Finder. It was followed, in order, by New York City, BBC English (The King’s English), New England, Southern California or California “Valley,” Texas/Texan drawl, New Jersey, Philadelphia English, Chicago Urban and Louisiana. Details are at https://www.thewordfinder.com/articles/accent-assistants.
• Mama Bird Southern Kitchen in West Jordan leads all Utah locations as a place where people celebrate payday, according to a survey by U.S. consumer lender Advance America. It asked people about the independent restaurants people turn to for their first “treat” of the month. Mama Bird was followed by No. 2 Blind Rabbit Kitchen in Salt Lake City and No. 3 Station 22 in Provo. Details are at https://www.advanceamerica.net/money-saving-tips/money-management/local-restaurants-where-families-celebrate-payday.
• Horsethief Campground, near Arches and Canyonlands national parks, holds the top spot in the “2026 Best Places to Camp: National Park Neighbors Presented by Girl Camper,” a nationwide community that connects women through camping, outdoor experiences and events. The announcement was made by The Dyrt, an app to get campsites. Details are at https://thedyrt.com/press/the-dyrt-announces-best-places-to-camp-national-park-neighbors-presented-by-girl-camper/.
• St. George tops a list of “wildest pre-spring break party pit stops by students,” according to a survey by American River Wellness. St. George is ranked No. 70 nationally. Other ranked Utah locations are No. 105 Ogden and No. 121 Salt Lake City. The top pre-spring break destination party town nationally is Nashville, Tennessee. Details are at https://americanriverwellnessrecovery.com/pitstop-places/.
• Chick-fil-A is the top fast-food place in Utah for a marriage proposal, according to a survey of men by ACE.com. It is followed, in order, by Dairy Queen, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Wendy’s, Sonic Drive-In, Popeyes and Subway. Women asked about how they would feel about a fast-food proposal showed that 49 percent said it would be funny but memorable, 24 percent would find it romantic, 22 percent would find it completely unromantic and 4 percent would view it as desperate.
• Utahns are more likely to ignore eye pain than tooth pain, according to a survey by Lenspricer.com, a price comparison site for contact lenses. Thirty-four percent of people wait a few weeks before addressing eye problems. Sixteen percent address the issues the same day, while 28 percent wait a few days and 14 percent wait a few months. Cost and convenience are among the factors for the delays. More than a third of respondents admitted skipping an eye appointment purely because of the price. About half said they have postponed an exam simply because it wasn’t convenient. Details are at https://lenspricer.com/news/eye-symptoms-study.
• Washington Square Park in Salt Lake City is Utah’s top spot to just sit and relax, according to a survey by A Mission for Michael. It was followed by No. 2 Conservation Garden Park in West Jordan and No. 3 Centennial Park in West Valley City. Details are at https://amfmtreatment.com/blog/city-solitude-best-places-to-disconnect-in-cities/.
EDUCATION
• Club Ability recently held a “Shark Tank”-style competition at Suazo Business Center in Salt Lake City for student teams in its AI Innovation Challenge, a bilingual program for young adults looking to develop AI and entrepreneurship skills. As a part of the program, 25 students worked to develop businesses with AI-driven solutions to real-world problems. The program was launched with support from Zions Bank, Union Pacific and the Suazo Business Center. Club Ability is an organization focused on creating access to tech education for underserved and Spanish-speaking communities.
• Instructure, a Salt Lake City-based learning ecosystem and maker of Canvas, has announced a national expansion of Mastery Predictive Assessments, its research-validated benchmark assessments designed to predict learner performance on state summative exams and give educators earlier, more actionable insights into learning progress. Beginning with the 2026-27 school year, MPAs will be available in, significantly expanding access to predictive, standards-aligned assessments for K-12 districts across the United States. Mastery Predictive Assessments measures students’ understanding of previously taught content throughout the school year and end-of-year performance, helping educators identify which students are on track and which need support while there is still time to make an impact on end-of-year outcomes.
• Utah Valley University’s spring 2026 student trade show, VentureCon, gave 35 student vendors the opportunity to sell their goods, connect with new customers, and network with fellow entrepreneurs. Hosted by the UVU Chelsea & Casey Baugh Entrepreneurship Institute, the event drew hundreds of students and community members. Designed to benefit student entrepreneurs, many vendors reported substantial revenues during the event. VentureCon is free to participants and open to UVU students, concurrent enrollment students and alumni. Students who may still be in the development phases of their product are also invited to participate in the show so they can survey customers, conduct market research, or sell their products. The BEI provides resources to help students achieve their goals of founding their own businesses.
HEALTH CARE
• Seek Labs, a Salt Lake City-based techbio company building a programmable disease response platform to detect, protect and counter disease threats, has joined the Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Preparedness Consortium, a national public-private partnership focused on strengthening the nation’s ability to rapidly develop and manufacture critical medical countermeasures. Supported by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, the consortium brings together leaders across the drug and vaccine ecosystem to expand domestic biomanufacturing capacity and improve resilience against future public health threats. The consortium is designed to accelerate the transition from discovery to scalable production of therapeutics, diagnostics and vaccines. Participation in the consortium expands opportunities for federal funding, strategic partnerships, and integration into national preparedness initiatives.
• Co-Diagnostics Inc, a Salt Lake City-based molecular diagnostics company, has announced that CoMira Diagnostics, the company’s joint venture with Arabian Eagle Manufacturing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has secured an industrial land allocation in Sudair Industrial City located in the Riyadh region, one of Saudi Arabia’s industrial hubs. The action follows approval by the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones. The final lease agreement is expected to be executed upon completion of site infrastructure requirements. The allocated site is intended to support, subject to further development activities and approvals, the development of a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility dedicated to molecular diagnostic instruments and assays, which would be designed and built to meet CoMira’s specific production and regulatory requirements.
HOSPITALITY
• The Domain Cos., a real estate development, management and investment firm, in partnership with private equity real estate firm Cottonwood Group, has closed on $102 million financing to develop Kimpton Hotel, a 216-room luxury lifestyle hotel in Salt Lake City that will feature an upscale restaurant and a rooftop bar with year-round access. The hotel, at 370 S. West Temple, will operate under IHG Hotels & Resorts’ Kimpton luxury lifestyle brand. The 10-story mid-rise project is expected to be complete by the first quarter of 2028. It will feature a fitness center, 7,000 square feet of meeting space, valet parking, indoor and outdoor terraces and regular programming including live music, curated events and seasonal pop-ups. The general contractor is Wadman. Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB) is the architect and Goodrich is the interior designer. Stonebridge Cos. will manage the project. Brokers on the financing deal include Matt Weiner, Jay Morrow and Dustin Stolly at Walker & Dunlop.
MANUFACTURING
• YESCO, a Salt Lake City-based company involved in creating, repairing and maintaining signs, has completed restoration and modernization of the iconic Encinitas Gateway Sign spanning Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas, California. As part of the restoration, YESCO replaced the existing sign letters, which had experienced corrosion after years of exposure to coastal elements. The project also included repairing rust and structural wear and repainting the sign and updating of the sign’s lighting system from its original neon tubing to modern LED technology. The current gateway sign was installed in 2001 in tribute to an earlier version erected in 1928 by the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce. Remaining in place until 1937, that original 1928 structure was removed to accommodate road widening. The 2001 sign measured roughly 80 feet across.
• Genpak, a North Carolina-based foodservice packaging manufacturer, has announced the closure of its manufacturing facility in Cedar City, citing rising legislative polystyrene bans in neighboring states. In place for over 30 years, the plant, which produces polystyrene containers and has about 200 employees, is scheduled to close by May 23. The company said legislative restrictions on polystyrene foam foodservice containers are in effect in several states and prohibit the sale of single-use foam foodservice containers, tableware and cups.
MINING
• U.S. Critical Materials Corp., a Salt Lake City-based rare earth exploration and process technology company, has executed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with REalloys Inc. to collaborate in advancing domestic rare earth and critical mineral supply chain independence for the United States. Ohio-based REalloys Inc. is advancing a fully integrated North American mine-to-magnet supply chain encompassing upstream resource development, midstream processing and downstream manufacturing. Under the MOU, the companies will combine their respective strengths in mineral resources, processing technology and downstream capabilities to accelerate the development of a fully domestic rare earth supply chain. The collaboration is expected to include potential offtake agreements with REalloys and access to its existing rare earth processing and metallization capabilities at its Department of Defense-supported facility in Ohio. The MOU also establishes a framework for potential strategic investment and equity exchange, joint pursuit of government financing and coordinated government relations.
PARTNERSHIPS
• FatPipe Inc., a Salt Lake City-based company offering software-defined wide area networking and Secure SD-WAN and cybersecurity solutions, has announced a new partnership with TD SYNNEX, a Florida- and California-based global distributor and solutions aggregator for the IT ecosystem. The partnership aims to expand the reach of FatPipe’s networking and cybersecurity solutions to enterprise partners and customers worldwide. FatPipe’s platform is designed to help organizations simplify network management; improve application performance; strengthen cybersecurity; and support increasingly distributed, cloud-driven environments.
• Neighbor, a Lehi-based marketplace for storage and parking, and QuikStor, a California-based company offering an operator-built management software platform for the self-storage industry, have announced a partnership. Through the integration, QuikStor customers can seamlessly list available storage units on Neighbor and receive new renters. Through a native API integration, QuikStor customers publish any available inventory — standard self-storage units, climate-controlled spaces, drive-up units and vehicle storage — directly to Neighbor’s marketplace. Renters discover the facility on Neighbor, and customer information syncs back into QuikStor with full attribution.
PHILANTHROPY
• Owlet Inc., a Lehi-based company focused on smart infant monitoring, recently donated $39,000 in products to the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles as part of Babylist’s 11th annual “Make March Matter” campaign benefiting pediatric care. The products will be used by CHLA’s Newborn Intensive Critical Care Unit. Make March Matter is CHLA’s annual fundraising campaign, mobilizing individuals, families and companies across the country to support the hospital’s life-saving work. Babylist, a baby registry and parenting resource, serves as a key campaign partner. Owlet’s advocacy arm, Owlet Cares, has donated over $2.5 million in product and charitable support since 2021 and works with more than 40 global nonprofit partners to improve the lives of babies and families.
REAL ESTATE
• Manova Partners, a boutique international real estate investment manager with a presence in Europe, North and South America, and Australia, has purchased 60 Park Ave., a Class A office building in Sugar House in Salt Lake City. It is the company’s first property in the city. The six-story building is 97 percent leased. The 143,806-square-foot building sits on just over four acres and was completed in 2020. Tenants at 60 Park include FTP Power, Filevine, Arena Communications, RBC Capital Markets and Sotheby’s Realty. 60 Park Ave was marketed for sale by CBRE.
RECOGNITIONS
• Nuvia Dental Implant Center, Salt Lake City, has been selected as the 2026 Dental Implant Restoration Company of the Year by Healthcare Business Review. It is the third consecutive year Nuvia has earned the honor. Healthcare Business Review is a publication covering innovations and providers across the health care and dental fields and has previously highlighted Nuvia’s approach to full mouth dental implants and patient experience in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
• Everee, a Salt Lake City-based payroll software company, has been named to Fast Company’s 2026 Most Innovative Companies List. Everee was ranked No. 11 in the Human Resources category. Everee’s platform is designed for businesses with flexible workforces. With Everee, companies can pay W-2 employees and 1099 contractors the moment work is done — daily, weekly or on-demand — without the manual processes, fixed pay cycles or compliance headaches that come with legacy systems.
RETAIL
• Clean Simple Eats, a Draper-based brand in the health and wellness industry, has launched at Walmart. A selection of the brand’s product lines will be available for purchase at select Walmart stores nationwide and online at walmart.com. CSE’s protein powder is available in 2,000 Walmart stores and on walmart.com, with the hopes of expanding to all Walmarts nationwide.
SERVICES
• Sparkle Grooming Co., an option for keeping pets clean, comfortable and healthy, has opened its first Utah location at 1822 W. 9000 S., Suite B, West Jordan. The owner is local resident Benjamin Crawford Jr. Founded in 2022, the company is pioneering the quick-service pet care (QSPC) category, combining salon-quality hygiene and grooming with a membership-based model and hospitality-driven experience.