US facility · Food & beverage
Yakult to build $305 million probiotic drink plant in Georgia
- Company
- Yakult Honsha (Tokyo)
- Project
- Yakult U.S.A. second U.S. plant, Bartow County, Georgia
- Value
- $305M
- Status
- Ground was broken in Cartersville, Bartow County, in October 2024, with production expected to begin in 2026. We could not confirm that the plant has started operating.
- Date
- 2023-07-19
Georgia announced that Yakult U.S.A. would invest about $305 million in a probiotic beverage plant in Bartow County, its second U.S. factory after one in California. The plant was expected to create more than 90 jobs and start operating in 2026.
Why it matters
Yakult sales have been growing quickly in the U.S., and a second plant in the Southeast lets it supply the East Coast without shipping from California.
The plant
The 250,000-square-foot plant in Cartersville is designed to bottle about 1.8 million drinks a day, according to its builder, Gray. Yakult's first US plant, in Fountain Valley, California, opened in 2014. Like other Yakult plants, the new one will offer free public tours.
Why Georgia
Yutaka Misumi, chief executive of Yakult U.S.A., said Georgia suited the company's production needs, offered good logistics for distribution and had strong support from the state and county. He said the plant would become the main supplier for the eastern and central US.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
