King’s Hawaiian to Build New Plant near Taylorsville, Ind.

Dec. 18, 2023

Facility will begin construction next year, with the goal of being fully operational in 2027.

The parent company of the King’s Hawaiian brand, Irresistible Foods Group Inc., has come to an agreement with officials in Bartholomew County, Ind., on terms to build a new, $200 million food processing facility near Taylorsville, Ind.

Agreements signed by the company specifying the number of jobs created and wages to be paid arrived just ahead of a weekend deadline: nearly 150 jobs will be created by 2027, paying an average of $29.94/hour.

A groundbreaking or ribbon-cutting ceremony is expected for 2024, local news reports said, and the facility will be under construction into 2026 — with the facility fully operational in 2027, a company spokeswoman told the local news outlet.

The new facility will require infrastructure improvements by the county, including investment of $2.56 million to improve water pressure for fire suppression and $550,000 for new or upgraded sanitary sewers. These upgrades are expected to elevate the area’s attractiveness to future businesses, and should Irresistible Foods back out of the project, it has agreed to pay the county back for these infrastructure plans.

The plant will be situated on an 88-acre parcel, giving it plenty of room to expand beyond the initial footprint, the report said.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.