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Ferrero North America, part of the global sweet-packaged food company the Ferrero Group, celebrated the opening of its new Kinder Bueno production facility in Bloomington, Ill. The $214 million dollar investment creates approximately 200 new jobs and will help drive Ferrero’s continued market expansion. The milestone event was celebrated with Bloomington Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe, other dignitaries, and representatives from Walmart, epitomizing the retail giant’s commitment to the future of US manufacturing.
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The 169,000sq-ft facility is an expansion of Ferrero’s existing manufacturing campus in Bloomington. CRUNCH, 100 Grand, Raisinets, and other chocolate products are made at the campus, and it is also now home to the company’s first-ever chocolate factory outside of Europe.
Kinder, which also includes Kinder Joy, Kinder Chocolate, and Kinder seasonal products, has grown to a half billion-dollar power brand in the US since it was first introduced in the market in 2017.
“Ferrero’s investments in American manufacturing bring new jobs to our communities and support workforce development,” said Jason Fremstad, senior vice president of supplier development, global sourcing at Walmart. “We’re proud to support our suppliers making these critical investments, which are good for business, good for the country, and most importantly good for local communities.”
In addition to the new facility, the event also celebrated Ferrero’s $10,000 gift to Heartland Community College’s Advanced Manufacturing Center. The gift builds on the company’s partnership with the college — a Heartland apprenticeship program currently trains Ferrero employees to be certified maintenance technicians.
The investment further expands Ferrero’s footprint in North America. Along with the Bloomington campus at Beich Road, Illinois is also home to the company’s first ever North American Innovation Center and R&D Labs in Chicago, a plant in Franklin Park manufacturing Butterfinger and Baby Ruth, and a factory on 110th Street in Chicago manufacturing Keebler products. A new Nutella & GO production line was recently opened at the Ferrero plant in Brantford, Ontario, and the company has other facilities across Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
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Emil Kovács graduated from the Journalism program at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary. During his journalism studies, he focused on data journalism, investigative reporting, and multimedia storytelling. He gained experience by writing for the university’s student newspaper, where he gained attention for his articles on social issues. After graduation, Emil began working as a reporter at a European news agency, where he conducts in-depth analyses of international news and current events.
