ORRVILLE, OHIO — The J.M. Smucker Co. is building a new plant dedicated to the manufacturing of the company’s Uncrustables brand in McCalla, Ala. The total investment will be approximately $1.1 billion, according to the company.
Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2022, and the plant is expected to be operational by 2025. Other plants dedicated to manufacturing Uncrustables products are in Scottsville, Ky., and Longmont, Colo.
The McCalla plant combined with a completed expansion at the Longmont facility will more than double Smucker’s Uncrustables manufacturing capacity, according to the company.
Sales of the Uncrustables brand of products is currently approximately $500 million, and the brand has experienced double-digit sales growth annually over the past decade, Smucker said. With the increased production capacity, the company expects brand sales to reach $1 billion over the next five years.
During an investor call this past December, John P. Brase, chief operating officer of J.M. Smucker, said the only barrier to future growth of Uncrustables was the ability to supply product. He called the brand the fastest growing part of Smucker’s consumer food business.
The company has steadily extended the line of frozen, handheld sandwiches with new formats. Two varieties introduced in October were uncured pepperoni bites and uncured pepperoni roll-ups. The bites are formulated with bread, pepperoni, marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. The roll-ups feature flatbread, pepperoni, Provolone and Neufchatel cheeses with seasoning.
Other product varieties sold under the brand include chocolate hazelnut spread, peanut butter and grape jelly, peanut butter and strawberry, and peanut butter and honey, as well as turkey and Colby Jack cheese roll-ups, uncured ham and cheddar roll-ups, taco bites, and barbecue chicken bites.