Ferrero North America, part of the global confectionary maker Ferrero Group, today announced plans to invest $214.4 million at its Bloomington, Illinois facility. The new expansion will add another 169,000 square feet to its existing 160,000 square-foot plant on Beich Road and will create 200 new jobs.
This follows Ferrero’s recent announcement of a new chocolate processing facility in Bloomington—its first ever in North America.
The expanded capacity will allow the company to produce Kinder Bueno, a Ferrero premium chocolate bar popular in Europe, and introduced to the U.S. market in 2019. The new facility will be the first to manufacture Kinder products in North America and will be Ferrero’s largest production line outside of Europe.
"We are elevating the treating experience with Kinder Bueno's unique mix of flavors and textures and American consumers have really embraced that," said Catherine Bertrac, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Kinder at Ferrero North America. "Being able to make Kinder Bueno right here in North America will help us build on our tremendous momentum and continue meeting consumer demand."
Construction is expected to start in the Fall of 2022 and the new facility is projected to open in 2024.
Ferrero’s investment in Illinois follows other significant investments in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia as the company looks to meet growing demand in the U.S. market.
Ferrero is a 70-year-old family-owned company with 3,000 employees worldwide. The company has grown from a single bakery in Alba, Italy to the world’s third-largest confectionary company and produces well known sweet treats such as Ferrero Rocher®, Nutella®, Kinder®, Tic Tac® and Fannie May® chocolate.
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