Nestlé is set to build a new food processing unit in eastern India at a cost of Rs8.94bn ($108.9m).
The European food giant revealed its plans in a stock exchange filing. It will build the new facility in the district of Khorda in Odisha.
According to the filing, the Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha (IPICOL) informed the company that the State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) approved “in principle” the plans for the new facility.
Just Food has approached the KitKat chocolate and Maggi sauce manufacturer for comment on its new investment.
In May, the food major revealed that it was scouting out sites for its tenth factory in India, with a spokesperson adding that it was considering a region in the east.
Nestlé’s annual report stated that the company has factories making drinks, dairy products and confectionery in India. The business also has a site for its nutrition and health science unit in the country.
In 2022, the Swiss company – the world’s largest food maker – generated sales of SFr1.96bn ($2.19bn), up 12.9% on the previous year. The company reported “broad-based performance across all categories”.
In April, Nestlé’s publicly-listed subsidiary in India reported sales reaching Rs48.08bn, marking a 21.3% rise in the country during the first quarter of 2023.
“This is the highest growth for [Nestlé India] in a quarter in the last ten years, excluding the exceptional quarter in 2016 which was off a low base in 2015,” Suresh Narayanan, the chairman and managing director of Nestlé India, said. “All our product groups delivered double-digit growth, a notable feature in these past four quarters in a row.”
