Mondelçz India, part of Mondelçz International Inc which makes Cadbury chocolates, inaugurated its plant today at Sri City in Andhra Pradesh. This is its seventh plant in the country.

The investment for phase 1, which was inaugurated today, was $190 million. The facility is the largest in the Asia-Pacific Region and will produce 60,000 tonnes of Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate. Spread across 134 acres, the entire facility once functional in 2020 is expected to produce 2.5 lakh tonnes in multi categories. It will generate 1,600 local jobs.

The company has a market share of 60 per cent in chocolate segment in India and has invested $100 million in the six manufacturing facility over years. Inaugurating the plant, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, said the State has strong supply of milk production needed for making milk powder, robust cocoa cultivation and qualified workforce, which makes Sri City a favoured destination.

To make cocoa production self-sustainable, the State is planning to increase the area from 23,000 hectares to 75,000 hectares in the next 10 years. “We are co-operating with Mondelçz International to make this possible,” Naidu added. Chitoor produces 13 lakh litres of milk, which can be used for converting to milk powder with the industry collaboration. So far the investment for the Cadbury factory alone accounts for about ₹2,300 crore, said Naidu. The company sources clarified that the investments include suppliers apart from Mondelçz International Inc. David Myers, Executive Vice-President, Integrated Supply Chain, Mondelçz International, said the facility apart from catering to the domestic demand, will also export products to the Asian market once all phases complete.

The company is now focusing on increasing its production capacity. “We have already invested in 40 efficient and flexible manufacturing ‘Lines of Future’ globally and are building our ‘Sites of Future’ at strategic locations like Sri City to accelerate growth around the world,” Myers said.

Maurizio Brusadelli, Executive Vice-President and President, Asia Pacific, Mondelçz International, said “India is a priority market for us and we continue to invest in our brands, routes to market and people to drive sustainable growth.”

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