Ferrero bets $86m on Mexico as USMCA export hub
Italian confectionery group Ferrero will spend $86 million to double its Mexican plant's capacity by 2027, signaling continued corporate confidence in using Mexico as a tariff-advantaged manufacturing base for the US market.
Ferrero will invest $86 million to nearly double production capacity at its central Mexican manufacturing plant, pivoting the site into a primary export hub for the North American market. The capital injection at the San José Iturbide facility in Guanajuato will lift annual output from 35,000 tons to roughly 70,000 tons by 2027.
The expansion underscores a strategic shift in how the privately held Italian confectionery group utilizes its Mexican footprint. Ferrero intends to increase the plant's export share from 40% of total production to between 55% and 60% over the next five to six years. This directly capitalizes on the tariff advantages embedded in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
To capture US demand, the company is adapting its product development to regional tastes rather than relying on imports from Europe. The Guanajuato site will introduce new product categories and a specialized Nutella format engineered specifically for American consumers. The facility currently produces Nutella, Kinder Sorpresa, Kinder Chocolate, and Kinder Delice for markets spanning from Canada to Central America.
The fresh $86 million commitment brings Ferrero’s total historical investment in the site to over $500 million since it opened in 2013. The funding will be directed toward expanding production lines, modernizing logistics infrastructure, and upgrading energy systems. While specific technical details remain undisclosed, the focus on energy resilience is designed to shield the supply chain from overseas logistical disruptions and aligns with broader corporate sustainability targets.
For investors and corporate strategists, the move fits a familiar pattern for Ferrero. The family-owned company has aggressively acquired rival assets in recent years, including Nestlé’s US confectionery business and Kellogg’s cookie portfolio. Scaling up manufacturing capacity in Mexico provides the localized production backbone necessary to support that acquired demand without paying cross-border tariffs.
The direct local employment impact is minimal, with only 60 new jobs expected at the highly automated facility. However, the broader industrial signal is significant. Despite global economic headwinds, major consumer goods multinationals continue to deploy hundreds of millions of dollars into Mexico, validating the country's positioning as a resilient nearshoring destination.
