Bauducco Foods is expanding its US operations with a new production and distribution plant in Florida.
The Brazilian baked goods company said it broke ground on the facility on Friday (21 March).
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Located on 72 acres at the Zephyrhills Airport Industrial Park Ready Site, the project represents an investment of more than $200m.
Stefano Mozzi, the CEO of Bauducco’s operations in the US, said the company carried out an “extensive analysis” of more than 160 potential locations across seven states before selecting Zephyrhills as the “ideal location”.
Equipped with “advanced production technologies,” Bauducco said the facility will offer it “greater flexibility” to introduce new products to the market.
It will manufacture products including biscuits, wafers, and Italian sweet bread panettone, which will be distributed across the US.
Bauducco products are available under the same brand name in “most major” retailers across the US.
Panettone, described as one of Bauducco’s “most iconic” products, plays a “strategic” role for the company in the US, where the brand claims hold an 80% value share in this category.
The facility’s development is planned in three phases, with the first phase expected to be operational by mid-2026, followed by the second phase in 2028, and the third in 2030.
Established in 1952 by Italian immigrant Carlo Bauducco in São Paulo, Brazil, Bauducco has grown into an international baked goods manufacturer, producing more than 400,000t of baked products each year.
Now in its third generation as a family business, the company first entered the US in 1979 through exports.
In 2018, it opened its first international plant in Miami, where it had maintained a branch since 2005.
The Zephyrhills facility is expected to create approximately 600 new jobs in the Tampa Bay area, with 120 full-time positions opening in phase one.
