Food Plant Investments October 2023

Industry news in food and beverage markets related to plant openings, groundbreaking, and expenditures for October 2023 are found at the websites of Packaging Digest and sister publication Powder & Bulk Solids.

This past month's investments, however, were all about food. Brands made significant investments in product markets such as coffee, pet food, snacks, poultry, and dairy. Walmart’s $350 million investment in a milk processing operation led the pack this month as the single largest capital expenditure.

Notably, the plurality of October’s investments was going to the dogs…and cats: three of the month’s eight plant projects were for pet foods. A fourth, for Tyson's, was for pet-food ingredients made from insects.

Listed with the most recent news at the top, click on the hot-linked headlines for more of the story.

Keurig Dr Pepper to Invest $100M in Coffee Plant

Keurig Dr Pepper plans to invest $100 million to further develop its coffee roasting and manufacturing facility in Spartanburg County, SC. The plant is exclusively focused on coffee roasting and packaging for K-Cup pods for Keurig brewers.

ADM Invests $33 Million in New Pet Food Production Line

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has invested $33 million to build and open a new pet food production line in Guadalajara, Jalisco. The new line will optimize dry pet food production flow for the Ganador and Minino pet food brands.

Kellanova Breaks Ground on New Pringles Plant

Kellanova broke ground on its newest Pringles plant in Chonburi, Thailand, to serve markets in Asia.  This comes just a few weeks after the completion of the Kellogg company separation into W.K. Kellogg Co. and Kellanova. 

Stellar Snacks Invests $137 Million in New Facility

Nevada-based Stellar Snacks is expanding with a 434,000-sq.-ft facility in Louisville, KY. The $137 million investment will be over 10 years. and will create 350 jobs.

Hill's Pet Food Opens New Smart Factory

Hill’s Pet Nutrition opened its newest manufacturing plant in Tonganoxie, KS, which is about 40 miles west of its headquarters in Topeka, KS. Located on more than 80 acres, the 365,000-sq.-ft smart facility will increase the company’s production for canned pet food.

Walmart to Build $350 Million Milk Processing Facility

Walmart announced it will build a new $350 million milk processing plant in Valdosta, GA, hiring nearly 400 people. The plant will provide milk to more than 750 Walmart and Sam’s Club stores in Georgia and neighboring states.

Tyson Foods to Partner with Insect Ingredient Company

Tyson Foods and Protix have entered a joint venture for the operation and construction of an insect ingredient facility in the continental US. The facility will be the first at-scale one of its kind to upcycle food manufacturing byproducts into high-quality insect proteins and lipids which will primarily be used in the pet food, aquaculture, and livestock industries.

United Premium Foods Invests $1.8M in Premium Pet Food Solutions

UPF can manufacture and package a variety of human and pet food formats, from frozen patties to human-grade dog food. The capital projects will enable UPF to expand its current production capabilities with new systems and machinery to offer new and dynamic processing options for its customers.