On Tuesday, State Rep. Wayne Rosenthal joined Mayor Dan Brady, State Senator Chris Balkema (53rd District) and representatives of the Illinois Manufacturer’s Association (IMA) to tour the Bloomington facility that continues to grow.
“The economic impact of the plant in Bloomington reaches into my district supporting almost 1,400 employees and 560 suppliers with nearly $300 million economic impact in Illinois,” commented Rep. Rosenthal. “Their access to railway and highways to transport their products is key to their choosing central Illinois and we need to be good partners in maintaining our transportation infrastructure in Illinois to keep companies like Ferrero in our state.”
For over 70 years, Ferrero has created products known by generations, growing from a bakery in Alba, Italy into the third largest confectionery company in the world. Ferrero entered the North American market in 1969 and continues to spread joy with Ferrero Rocher®, Nutella®, Kinder®, Tic Tac® and Fannie May® chocolates. Ferrero Group expanded its portfolio in 2018 with the addition of Butterfinger®, CRUNCH®, Baby Ruth®, 100Grand® and other legendary chocolate brands.
Ferrero had been a successful U.S. company for years with its corporate headquarters in Italy. The private company owns several brands popular in the U.S., including its Nutella spread.
The company has grown its U.S. business in recent years through the acquisitions in 2017 of Fannie May chocolates and Ferrara Candy, the maker of Brach’s, Nerds and SweeTarts. The next year they bought Nestlé’s U.S. candy business, and in 2019, Ferrero purchased the Kellogg’s cookie brands and fruit snacks, including Keebler and Famous Amos.
Ferrero has made North America its own distinct global business region, building a $214 million Kinder Bueno production facility on the Bloomington campus, which is expected to create and support 200 additional jobs.
“I am impressed with the magnitude of this family-owned company with 3,000 employees in eight offices and ten plants and warehouses in North America, including the chocolate processing factory in Bloomington,” added Rosenthal. “It is encouraging to see the entrepreneurial spirit continuing from their founders, and their passion for quality, creativity, and innovation. We need to continue to work on the business climate in Illinois to attract more companies like Fererro.”
The company also manufactures Butterfinger and Baby Ruth products at its plant in Franklin Park, and Keebler products in Chicago with an 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 houses a new $214 million Kinder Bueno production facility.