Stellar Snacks’ West Louisville, Kentucky, Pretzel Plant Opens

Nov. 20, 2024

Over the next 10 years, the company expects to fill the 434,000-sq.-ft. facility, hiring another 300 or so employees as demand for its snacks grows.

Andy Hanacek

Pretzel manufacturer Stellar Snacks officially cut the ribbon on its new, $137 million processing plant in West Louisville, Ky., a project announced back in October of 2023.

The 434,000-sq.-ft. facility is the Carson City, Nev.-based company’s second production plant. Once complete, it will be its largest, surpassing its 101,000-sq.-ft. facility in Carson City, which employs more than 170 people.

The West Louisville bakery already employs more than 50 employees, and it is expected to create 350 full-time jobs in the next 10 years, according to a local news report — everything from master and apprentice pretzel-makers and production team members, to supervisors, engineers, maintenance leads, welders, mechanics, technicians and human resources administrators.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, along with state and local officials, attended the ribbon-cutting event, supporting what the local news called the single largest economic development for the area in the past 20 years. Elisabeth (mother) and Gina (daughter) Galvin founded Stellar Snacks in 2019 on a “pretzels with a purpose” platform, and is reportedly the first woman-owned pretzel manufacturer in the U.S.

Gina Galvin said the company’s plan for the facility moving forward was to scale operations and workforce in a sustainable fashion. The company distributes its products through grocery and retail stores nationwide, as well as on at least three airlines through in-flight snack services.

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.