Ferrero North America, part of the global confectionery company Ferrero Group, today announced plans to invest up to $214.4 million to expand its chocolate processing and product manufacturing plant in Bloomington, Illinois.

The 169,000 square foot addition will be dedicated to producing Kinder Bueno, a popular Ferrero premium chocolate bar in Europe that launched in the U.S. in 2019. Construction of the expansion is projected to start by Fall 2022 and is anticipated to create up to 200 new jobs over a four-year period. The new expansion will be one of the largest production lines built by Ferrero outside of Europe.