Hi-Chew candy maker Morinaga creating 200 jobs, building second Orange County factory

Japanese confectioner Morinaga & Co. Ltd. plans to build a second factory and create 204 jobs in Orange County to boost production of its popular Hi-Chew candies.

In a notice to investors, the company said it would invest $136 million in to build a 133,000-square-foot expansion at its site in Mebane. The company’s U.S. subsidiary, Morinaga America Foods Inc., plans to begin construction in October and begin production at the plant in early 2027.

The expansion is part of the Tokyo-based company’s global strategy, which includes boosting overseas sales — particularly in the U.S. — of Hi-Chew, a fruit-chew candy that competes with products such as Starburst and Mamba.

The company, which produces a wide range of candies, cookies and frozen desserts, reported a 9.8% increase in sales during the 12 months ending March 31. Sales of Hi-Chew have increased more than 20% each year since 2018, according to Morinaga.

Morinaga established its U.S. division in 2013 and began operations at a $48 million plant in Mebane in 2015 — its first outside Asia, where the company pledged to create 90 jobs. The 120,000-square-foot plant is in the Buckhorn Economic Development District off Interstate 40/85.

Morinaga’s new positions will include production, quality assurance, and maintenance and support personnel.

“We aim to become a company that continues to grow here in North Carolina,” Masaki Matsumoto, senior executive officer and general manager of Morinaga Japan’s international division, said in a statement.

A performance-based grant of $100,000 from the One North Carolina Fund will subsidize Morinaga’s expansion, contingent on a company capital investment of $115.4 million, the creation of 40 jobs, and local government support, state officials said Tuesday.

The 40 positions under the grant are expected to pay an average of $67,075, slightly above Orange County’s overall average annual wage of $66,979.

Japanese investment

Japan is one of the United States’ largest trading partners, and the largest source of foreign investment in North Carolina. At least 225 Japanese companies have large footprints in the state, employing more than 30,500 people, according to the governor’s office. That number is expected to grow by thousands more jobs in the coming years, Cooper’s office said.

In October 2023, Cooper and state Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders led a North Carolina corporate recruiting trip to the annual Southeastern United States/Japan Economic Development Conference in Tokyo. Cooper and Sanders met with Morinaga executives during the trip, which he credits with several major expansions and the creation of thousands of jobs in the state.

“It’s clear that the relationships we’ve made — along with our great workforce, infrastructure and quality of life — continue to bring good jobs to our state,” Cooper said in a statement Tuesday.