Multi-national Spanish company Natra has announced London will be home to a new 100,000 square foot chocolate production facility.
The plant is expected to be up and running by 2014 and employ about 60 people when it is at full production, according to the London Economic Development Corporation.
Kapil Lakhotia, interim general manager at LEDC, said in a statement “Natra is a valuable addition to London’s established cluster of food and beverage manufacturers including Nestle, McCormick, Cargill and Labatt.”
He added that the company will invest $16.3 million in the new facility and it is expected to produce 12,000 tonnes of product to address rising North American demand.
The LEDC has been working on this deal for 18 months.
Natra is a market leader in chocolate manufacturing and cocoa-derived products for private-label brands and international food companies.
The facility in London is expected to be responsible for manufacturing tablets, chocolate bars, spreads, chocolates and Belgian specialities.
Natra currently has four specialized production centres in Spain, Belgium and France.
