Morinaga opens new Mebane plant, adding 204 jobs and boosting Hi-Chew production

Morinaga’s new Mebane factory will add 204 jobs and boost production by 1.2 billion HI-CHEW chewlets a year, a major expansion that deepens the candy maker’s presence in Orange County and strengthens one of North Carolina’s best-known Japanese manufacturing investments. The $136 million project is expected to be fully operational by October 2026.

Gov. Josh Stein joined Morinaga America Foods, Inc. for the ribbon-cutting at the company’s second manufacturing facility outside Asia, putting state leaders front and center for a project that has become a symbol of North Carolina’s appeal to foreign manufacturers. Japanese leaders also attended, including representatives of the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta, underscoring the company’s ties to Japan and the continuing importance of Japanese investment in the state.

The new building adds more than 132,000 square feet at the Wilson Road site in Mebane. Orange County said the project will create 204 full-time jobs between 2026 and 2030, with an average annual wage of $48,912, along with healthcare and related benefits. Morinaga said the expansion will also support research and development, giving the company room for future flavor innovation as it scales production for North America.

The new plant builds on a production base Morinaga established years ago in Mebane. The company created its American subsidiary in 2013 and opened its first North Carolina plant in 2015, the first Morinaga manufacturing site outside Asia. That existing factory is about 100,435 square feet, employs roughly 220 people, and produces more than 5 million HI-CHEW chewlets a day to meet U.S. demand.

The expansion gives Morinaga much more room to grow at a time when HI-CHEW has become a familiar name on store shelves far beyond Alamance County. With its second plant outside Asia now taking shape in Mebane, the company is turning a local manufacturing foothold into a much larger North American production hub.