Israel-based food manufacturer and distributor Osem has opened a facility at its Kiryat Gat industrial campus to support its Bamba snack brand.
Built with an investment of Sfr55m ($54.9m), the facility will cover an area of 16,000m² and employ 150 workers.
Initially, the facility will be used by the company to increase production of Bamba snacks by nearly one million bags per day, and to 1.5 million bags at a later stage.
The facility will enable the company to meet the growing demand for its Bamba products in Israel, as well as focus on new products developed by the company’s scientists.
Osem Group CEO Avi Ben-Assayag said: “Our dream is to see Bamba in every supermarket in the US and Europe. Thanks to the factory we are inaugurating today, we will be able to double production capacity and provide for demand in Israel and the increasing demand for Bamba in the US.
“This is the most innovative food factory in Israel, with one of the most advanced quality control systems in the world and a closed and automated production system.
“The factory joins the company’s production plant compound in Kiryat Gat, which includes the Tzabar and Bonjour factories already operating. In total, Osem will employ about 600 people in the city and its surrounding area.”
Owned by Swiss food company Nestle, Osem has been marketing its products to the kosher food market in the US and Europe through Osem USA and Osem UK.
Osem Group operations vice-president Meir Imber said: “The factory was built according to the highest food factory standards in the world, with innovative technologies and automated manufacturing processes.”
