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Project(s): View 7 related projects in PECWeb
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Released July 14, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Confectionary companies are catering to the U.S.' sweet tooth, with more than $1.5 billion in projects underway and planned throughout the country. The region that leads the nation in confectionary plant spending is the Great Lakes region, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Morinaga & Company (Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese company that has scored big in the U.S. with its popular Hi-Chew fruit candies. With an aim to accelerate its brand-presence, Morinaga earlier this year began expanding its production facility in Mebane, North Carolina, which will more than double its size with a 133,000-square-foot building addition that will house new production lines and equipment to increase the production of Hi-Chew products. Design-build firm Gray Construction (Lexington, Kentucky) is expected to complete the expansion in mid-2026. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
Some companies include a bit of nutritional value in their confectionary products. 1440 Foods (New York, New York), for example, in addition to its Body Fortress protein powders, manufactures a range of bars with high protein content and healthy nutrients. Flavors such as "Super Cookie Crunch" and "Vanilla Caramel Churro" promise a tasty way for people to increase their protein intake. To keep up with sales growth, late last year the company launched the development of a brownfield structure (a former snack plant) in Jeffersonville, Indiana. After structural modifications and equipment upgrades, 1440 expects to have the plant up and running by the end of this year. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
A popular U.S. food company--Mars Incorporated (McLean, Virginia), which manufactures everything from dog food to candy bars--also is expanding its healthier options (compared with its Twix and Snickers offerings) by developing a brownfield site in Salt Lake City, Utah, for its Nature's Bakery line of products, which include foods like fig bars, oatmeal crumble bars and brownie bars containing whole grains and dates. In a press release from last year, Mars said the Nature's Bakery line was the eighth best-selling and fastest-growing granola and snack bar brand in the U.S. Capitalizing on this trajectory, the company is employing engineering and constructing contractor Dennis Group LLC (Springfield, Massachusetts) to perform structural modifications and equipment additions at the 339,000-square-foot Utah site. The plant is expected to begin rolling out its line of healthier products later this year. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
German candymaker Haribo (Grafschaft) completed construction of its first U.S. production facility in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, in 2023 and from the start, construction of the facility has been planned as a multi-phase project, although subsequent construction is occurring later than originally planned. Haribo is gearing up to launch Phase II construction next year, adding another 200,000 to 250,000 square feet of space to the plant as well as further expanding the warehouse facility. A third phase of construction also is on the drawing board, which would further increase the plant's production of Haribo's gummy candies, including its well-known Gummi Bears. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the reports on the Phase II and Phase III portions of the project.
In 2024, the Kraft Heinz Company (Chicago, Illinois) announced that it had been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to receive up to $170 million in funds to institute clean energy projects across 10 of its U.S. plants. The company has set the goal of achieving net-zero emissions across its value chain by 2050. As part of this initiative, Kraft Heinz will later this summer begin overhauling utility systems and other equipment at its 430,000-square-foot marshmallows and caramels manufacturing plant in Kendallville, Indiana. Another efficiency project began earlier this year at a sauce and cheese production plant in Champaign, Illinois. Both efficiency projects are expected to be completed in 2027. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the reports on the Indiana and Illinois projects.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Morinaga & Company (Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese company that has scored big in the U.S. with its popular Hi-Chew fruit candies. With an aim to accelerate its brand-presence, Morinaga earlier this year began expanding its production facility in Mebane, North Carolina, which will more than double its size with a 133,000-square-foot building addition that will house new production lines and equipment to increase the production of Hi-Chew products. Design-build firm Gray Construction (Lexington, Kentucky) is expected to complete the expansion in mid-2026. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
Some companies include a bit of nutritional value in their confectionary products. 1440 Foods (New York, New York), for example, in addition to its Body Fortress protein powders, manufactures a range of bars with high protein content and healthy nutrients. Flavors such as "Super Cookie Crunch" and "Vanilla Caramel Churro" promise a tasty way for people to increase their protein intake. To keep up with sales growth, late last year the company launched the development of a brownfield structure (a former snack plant) in Jeffersonville, Indiana. After structural modifications and equipment upgrades, 1440 expects to have the plant up and running by the end of this year. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
A popular U.S. food company--Mars Incorporated (McLean, Virginia), which manufactures everything from dog food to candy bars--also is expanding its healthier options (compared with its Twix and Snickers offerings) by developing a brownfield site in Salt Lake City, Utah, for its Nature's Bakery line of products, which include foods like fig bars, oatmeal crumble bars and brownie bars containing whole grains and dates. In a press release from last year, Mars said the Nature's Bakery line was the eighth best-selling and fastest-growing granola and snack bar brand in the U.S. Capitalizing on this trajectory, the company is employing engineering and constructing contractor Dennis Group LLC (Springfield, Massachusetts) to perform structural modifications and equipment additions at the 339,000-square-foot Utah site. The plant is expected to begin rolling out its line of healthier products later this year. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
German candymaker Haribo (Grafschaft) completed construction of its first U.S. production facility in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, in 2023 and from the start, construction of the facility has been planned as a multi-phase project, although subsequent construction is occurring later than originally planned. Haribo is gearing up to launch Phase II construction next year, adding another 200,000 to 250,000 square feet of space to the plant as well as further expanding the warehouse facility. A third phase of construction also is on the drawing board, which would further increase the plant's production of Haribo's gummy candies, including its well-known Gummi Bears. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the reports on the Phase II and Phase III portions of the project.
In 2024, the Kraft Heinz Company (Chicago, Illinois) announced that it had been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to receive up to $170 million in funds to institute clean energy projects across 10 of its U.S. plants. The company has set the goal of achieving net-zero emissions across its value chain by 2050. As part of this initiative, Kraft Heinz will later this summer begin overhauling utility systems and other equipment at its 430,000-square-foot marshmallows and caramels manufacturing plant in Kendallville, Indiana. Another efficiency project began earlier this year at a sauce and cheese production plant in Champaign, Illinois. Both efficiency projects are expected to be completed in 2027. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the reports on the Indiana and Illinois projects.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
