Kewpie boots up condiments capacity with second US plant
The company’s Q&B Foods US subsidiary has opened a new factory in Montgomery County, Tennessee.
Japan’s Kewpie has increased US production capacity for mayonnaise and dressings with a second manufacturing facility for its local business unit.
Subsidiary Q&B Foods has started production at the 15,000 square-meter site in Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee. It sits on an 80,000 square-meter plot of land with a potential annual output of 60,000 tonnes of mayonnaise and salad dressings, according to a statement.
Kewpie’s Q&B Foods business unit also operates out of a factory in Irwindale, California, where it started operations in 1982.
“With the Tennessee plant in operation, in addition to reacting to expanding demand in the Americas, we aim to open up more markets and get greater brand penetration in the United States in particular, one of the world’s largest markets for salad condiments,” Kewpie said in the statement.
Both plants serve the retail channel and “commercial customers”.
Kewpie explained that having two manufacturing facilities in the US will enable Q&B Foods to reduce delivery times and costs from having just a single plant in California. The second site will lead to a three-fold increase in production capacity for mayonnaise and salad dressings in the US, it said.
GlobalData Strategic Intelligence
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData
Mitsuru Takamiya, the president and CEO of Kewpie, said: “Our plan is for this Tennessee facility to become the manufacturing base not just for the United States but for all of North and South America combined. This means we’ll expand the scope of the plant and contribute to Tennessee’s economy by continuing to create jobs for many years to come.”
Tokyo-based Kewpie was set up in 1919. As well as mayonnaise and salad dressings, the parent company also produces fruit-and-vegetable-based baby foods, including meals and puddings.
In the year to the end of December, Kewpie generated revenue of Y484bn ($3.3bn), up from Y455.1bn in the previous 12 months.
Operating income rose to Y34.3bn from Y19.6bn.
Profit before tax increased to Y33.6bn from Y22.1bn, while net profit climbed to Y24.4bn from Y15.5bn.
