Japanese snacks, confectionery and ice cream group Morinaga & Co. has revealed expansion plans at its new factory in Takasaki in an attempt to ramp up ice cream production.
Its “mainstay ice cream products” including best seller Choco Monaka Jumbo and Ita Choco Ice will be the lines to benefit from the move.
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Morinaga said it is investing JPY8.6bn (US$78.5m) on expanding production.
The company said in a statement it is aiming to “establish a more stable revenue base by strengthening mainstay brands in the existing domains centred on domestic confectionery and foodstuff and frozen desserts and rebuilding the production system”.
The factory where the new lines will be located has itself been under construction since April. It will span an area of 35,450 sq ft and is Morinaga’s third in the city.
The plant will also be used for the production of its chocolate products such as Dars.
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By GlobalDataOn the expansion in ice cream, Morinaga pointed out the domestic ice cream market is expanding every year and that sales of its frozen desserts has “increased significantly”.
It said sales of Choco Monaka Jumbo have grown for 18 successive years.
Morinaga said it expects the construction of its new site to complete in April 2020 and production to start there in September 2020.
However, the additional production lines for its ice cream products will not be ready until April 2021.
