New Upfield Canada facility to build cheese alternatives brand
The new facility in Brantford, Ontario, will provide expanded capacity as well as the technical and production efficiencies required to support its growth. The company has purchased an existing 164,000 square foot industrial building, and brings an investment involving the purchase of land, infrastructure improvements and equipment to Brantford.
Upfield, the largest plant-based consumer products company in the world, currently employs 86 technical workers at its current Etobicoke facility and will be expanding its operations on the 17.4 acres site in Brantford, expected to create additional employment opportunities over the period 2021 to 2023.
The new facility will feature technical improvements that will support Upfield's expanding spreads and margarine product portfolio, including Becel margarine and plant-based bricks, as well as a scaled-up manufacturing platform that will support new innovations such as Violife vegan cheese alternative products.
Plans are for the new facility to be fully operational by the end of 2021. While the company's operations at its current Etobicoke facility will end, Upfield looks forward to welcoming members of its existing workforce to Brantford.
"Upfield is investing and innovating to expand our plant-based business in Canada and introduce a new product line here, our plant-based cheese product, Violife. As part of this expansion, we are launching production in Brantford," said Dan Bajor, president of Upfield Canada Inc.
"Our new state-of-the art facility will supply our spreads and plant-based cheese product to Canadian consumers and support the export of Violife to the United States and eventually to markets in Latin America."
