Ferrero Opens First US Chocolate Processing Facility

Ferrero North America is amping up its Illinois footprint with a $75 million investment in a new chocolate processing plant.

The company manufactures Butterfinger and Baby Ruth products at its plant in Franklin Park, and Keebler products in Chicago. Last year the company opened its new Innovation Center and R&D Labs in Chicago’s historic Marshall Field and Company Building. The Ferrero manufacturing campus in Bloomington manufactures CRUNCH, 100 Grand, and Raisinets in addition to now processing chocolate. The campus will also soon house a new $214 million Kinder Bueno production facility, which is expected to create 200 additional new local jobs when it opens later this year.

“Bringing Ferrero’s decades of experience making high-quality, world class chocolate to Illinois — the heart of America’s food and confections industry — is going to help us achieve our goal of being the sweets and treats leader in the market,” said Alanna Cotton, president and chief business officer of Ferrero North America. “Ferrero and Bloomington are going to be greater together for years to come.”

The chocolate processing facility is part of Ferrero’s overall growth and investment in North America. In addition to new projects in Illinois, the company recently invested in new capacity and capabilities for its Brantford, Ontario, CAN plant and added distribution centers in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona, as well as invested in Oregon’s hazelnut growers. Ferrero’s North American presence now totals more than 5,100 employees across eight offices and 12 plants and warehouses in the US, Canada, and the Caribbean.