Ferrero chocolate factory breaks ground in Bloomington

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Ferrero has broken ground on its first North American location to produce Kinder Bueno products, and the chocolate factory is calling Illinois home.

Governor JB Pritzker was on hand for Wednesday’s groundbreaking in Bloomington. The facility is a $214 million investment that will create 200 new jobs over the next four years.

Ferrero is also expanding its existing Bloomington manufacturing center to make chocolate for Crunch, 100Grand, Raisinets and other Ferrero products.

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"Annually we spend about $300 million to support the nearly 1400 employees, 560 suppliers, and numerous communities here in the state — and these expenditures will only grow as we continue to invest in Illinois," said Alanna Cotton, President and Chief Business Officer of Ferrero North America.

This summer, Ferrero announced plans to open a new innovation center in Chicago.