Ferrara Candy plans to spend $675 million to build a new manufacturing site in South Carolina to support a “high level” of consumer demand for candies such as Nerds Gummy Clusters.
The 750,000-square-foot manufacturing site in Orangeburg is expected to include processing and packaging, a warehouse for raw and pack materials, and an administrative office.
The facility “represents a major step forward in transforming Ferrara’s manufacturing scale and capability, positioning the company for long-term global leadership,” Marco Capurso, Ferrara’s CEO, said in a statement.
Once opened, the operation in Orangeburg County will create an estimated 1,000 manufacturing and corporate jobs during the next decade. The first production lines are expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2029.
The 118-year-old Ferrara, a privately held affiliated company of Nutella maker Ferrero, has been growing rapidly in recent years through acquisitions and innovations. The manufacturer of Lemonheads and Brach’s is evidently confident that further production capacity is necessary to meet growing demand and keep it competitive in the cutthroat candy sector.
Ferrara has expanded its dominance over the sweets aisle in recent years through acquisitions, including the purchase of Jelly Belly for an undisclosed amount in 2023. The biggest deal came in 2018 when Ferrero purchased Nestlé’s candy business for nearly $3 billion in 2018, enabling Ferrara to add popular brands such as SweeTarts and Laffy Taffy to its enviable roster of sweets.
The Nestlé purchase also included one of its biggest jewels, the once-sleepy Nerds brand that has spawned the fast-growing Nerds Gummy Clusters.
Despite a pullback in consumer spending, food and beverage manufacturers have not been shy about investing in their manufacturing networks to put them in a favorable position for the future.
Anheuser-Busch announced earlier this week that the beer giant is doubling its domestic manufacturing investment to $600 million. And Danone has announced plans to expand some of its facilities to meet growing demand for yogurts such as Oikos and Activia.
