Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. will build a $400 million poultry plant in LaFayette, Ga., according to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. It should create 630 new jobs at full capacity.
The new facility will produce a variety of fully cooked chicken products to support the growth of its fast-growing prepared foods business. “This significant investment will allow further growth of our prepared foods business by expanding brands like Just Bare, Pilgrim’s, and Gold Kist, and supporting increasing demand in retail and foodservice channels,” said Pilgrim’s CEO Fabio Sandri.
Just Bare Lightly Breaded Chicken from Pilgrim’s took the top spot in Circana’s most recent New Product Pacesetters, the top-selling new products of 2024, selling $368.4 million in its first year.
The project is expected to get underway in the fall of this year, and hiring is expected to begin in 2027, aligning with the expected completion of the first phase of construction.
Pilgrim’s, which is majority-owned by Brazilian meat giant JBS, already has an estimated 7,500 employees and seven food production facilities across the state of Georgia.
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.