Snack Maker Hostess Blueprints New Plant in Arkansas

American sweet snacks manufacturer Hostess Brands is preparing to transform a 300,000-sq-ft idled production plant in Arkadelphia, AR into a new bakery, Arkansas economic development officials announced Monday. The company plans to invest $120-$140 million in the project.

Slated to become operational by the second half of 2023, the facility will increase the company’s capacity for its Donettes and cake platforms by 20%. The company said the site is designed to accommodate additional capacity increases in the coming years.

“We’ve been profitably gaining market share across the snacking categories in which we compete,” Andy Callahan, president and chief executive officer of Hostess, said in a release. “The addition of this new bakery signals our confidence that we expect the growth we have demonstrated over the last several years to continue.”

Hostess’ decision to open a new factory in an existing structure will help the company reduce costs and environmental impacts during construction.

“We are emphasizing a sustainability-first approach to this project while leveraging best practices from across our network of bakeries, and we anticipate that this bakery will be our most efficient and greenest operation yet,” said Callahan.

About 150 new jobs will be created with the opening of the Arkansas location.