$270M chocolate plant proof of U.S.'s sweet tooth

$270M chocolate plant proof of U.S.’s sweet tooth

March 11, 2022

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Americans aren’t losing their taste
for chocolate. Need proof? Look to Kansas, where candy giant Mars Inc.
is opening its first new plant in 35 years to churn out millions of
chocolate bars and other sweets every day.
Company officials are
throwing a grand opening Thursday for the sprawling, $270 million
chocolate plant — which they say exists mostly to meet U.S. demand for
its M&M’s- and Snickers-brand candy.
The plant, built south of
Topeka, will be able to produce 14 million bite-sized Snickers each
day, as well as 39 million M&M’s, enough to fill 1.5 million
fun-sized packs.
"It’s just unbelievable, the production," said
Topeka Mayor Larry Wolgast, who keeps a dispenser of peanut M&M’s on
his desk at City Hall.
It’s a sweet deal for state and local
officials, too. The 500,000-square-foot facility is bringing about 200
jobs to the Topeka area, and the company plans to open a store downtown
for several weeks.
Local officials, who will join the company at
the grand opening, also are earning the right to brag that Topeka’s work
force, central location and accessible site enabled the region to win
the plant over several dozen other communities. Kansas Gov. Sam
Brownback, who favors almond M&M’s, sees it as fitting that many
Americans will get their favorite snacks from the Heartland.
Matt
Hudak, who follows the U.S. market for "impulse" foods as an analyst for
market researcher Euromonitor International, said candy makers can
expect to see annual growth in chocolate sales stay above 3 percent,
making chocolate "a continual bright spot." He also said Mars has been
good at introducing new products, such as pretzel M&Ms and
bite-sized Snickers to keep consumers interested.
Even in uncertain economic times, he said, chocolate remains an "affordable luxury."
"There is little reason to suggest that, all of a sudden in the U.S., people will start to dislike
chocolate," he said.
The new chocolate factory is a sign that Mars officials are well aware of the trend and are bullish about
future sales.
"We
have been growing, and we see future growth," Debra Sandler, president
of Mars Chocolate North America, said in an interview ahead of the
opening. "We need the capacity."
The company’s New Jersey-based
chocolate unit, Mars Chocolate, has 16,000 employees in 21 countries. It
produces 29 brands that include M&Ms and Snickers, which it says
are billion-dollar brands, but also Milky Way, Twix and 3 Musketeers.
The
family-owned Mars Inc. also has its Wrigley division, which produces
gum, hard candies and chewy candies. It also has non-candy food
products, produces pet foods and runs pet hospitals.
Before the Kansas facility was built, the company’s last new plant in North America was in Cleveland,
Tenn.
___
Online:
Mars Inc.: http://www.mars.com/global/index.aspx

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