Voyage Foods Building in Ohio for Cocoa-Free Chocolate and Nut-Free Spreads
Voyage Foods is bringing online a 284,000-sq.-ft. facility in Mason, Ohio, to manufacture its cocoa-free chocolate, nut-free spreads and bean-free coffee. The plant is expected to be operational by the new year and will have the capacity to make 10,000 metric tons of cocoa-free chocolate annually once fully built.
The price was not disclosed but construction has been funded partially from a guaranteed loan program by the USDA “in the ballpark of $25 million,” the company said. Voyage will maintain headquarters and a manufacturing site in Oakland, Calif.
“With this new facility, Voyage is maturing from a startup food technology company to a large-scale manufacturer with the ability to deliver value across the entire ecosystem to our people, partners and the planet,” said Adam Maxwell, CEO and founder.
The company signed a deal in April with Cargill to become Voyage’s exclusive B2B global distributor for their nut-free spreads and cocoa-free chocolate. The new facility will help it deliver on new opportunities, particularly with CPG and foodservice companies.
In addition to its cocoa-free chocolate, the company offers Peanut-Free Roasted Seed Spread and Hazelnut-Free Roasted Seed Spread, free of the top nine allergens and available nationwide in Walmarts. Voyage products are made from inexpensive, widely available plant-based ingredients, many of which are upcycled from waste and side streams.
About the Author
Dave Fusaro
Editor in Chief
Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.