Jackson’s has announced a plant expansion that will nearly triple its production capacity and add an additional 10,000 square feet of manufacturing space to the Muskego, Wisconsin-based company.
The expansion comes less than two years after Jackson’s opened its production facility, which the company believes to be “the first of its kind dedicated to only making sweet potato kettle chips cooked in premium oils.”
James Marino, CEO of Jackson’s, said the company will add two new, high-capacity kettles, as well as two additional high speed packaging lines and seasoning systems that will allow the company to nearly triple its pounds per hour production capacity and run up to four different products simultaneously.
Marino added that the expansion, which started in late August and is scheduled to be completed by early November, also will allow the company to quadruple its storage space and install a high-density racking system.
Marino noted that in June, Jackson’s established a second, full-time production shift and added overtime required to meet growing customer demand. He said that the company expects to continue to add jobs to meet increased consumer response to its products.
“Adding the two new kettles means that we can process more than one million pounds of sweet potatoes each week and make more than 600,000 bags of kettle-cooked sweet potato chips a day,” Marino said.
Marino also said the new kettles will be equipped with the “latest technology, including features that will optimize usage of avocado oil.”
He noted that Jackson’s uses only heirloom, non-GMO, Beauregard and Covington sweet potatoes purchased from farmers across the country and kettle cooks them in small batches in avocado oil.
Jackson’s production facility and all of its products are free of the “Big Nine” allergens, and are compatible with all major diets, including vegan, Keto, Paleo, grain-free, AIP, Whole 30 and Kosher.
“From the start, we have only used non-GMO sweet potatoes sourced directly from farmers whose products are full of natural flavor, high in fiber and loaded with antioxidants,” said Megan Reamer, founder.
“Hearty slices are cooked ‘low and slow’ to maintain the nutritional integrity and bring out the best flavor and texture of our chips and provide a crunchy, delicious snack people can feel better about eating.”
Jackson’s sweet potato chips can be found at Costco, Sendik’s, Woodman’s, Whole Foods, Festival Foods, Metro Market, Kwik Trip, Outpost Natural Foods, Pick ‘n Save, Fox Bros. Piggly Wiggly and other retailers, as well as in corporate food service, restaurants and vending operations across the U.S.
Read more center store news from The Shelby Report.
