Turkey-based Kervan USA, a gummy, licorice and marshmallow candies producer, plans to open a $20 million packaging and manufacturing facility in the Lehigh Valley.
The company is constructing a 90,000-square-foot building in Lower Nazareth and Bethlehem townships. The facility will consolidate its Whitehall Township-based U.S. headquarters and its packaging and distribution locations in New Jersey.
Kervan plans to import more than 200 different candy varieties it manufactures in Turkey, Poland and Egypt under the Bebeto and Yumy Yumy brands through Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal and package them for distribution in the Lehigh Valley.
“The advantages that Kervan USA identified in the Lehigh Valley are what make the region a hub for food and beverage manufacturing,” Doug Warfel, Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation director of attraction and lending, said. “The location between New York and Philadelphia provides access to multiple ports and international airports and is within a day’s drive of one-third of the U.S. population, making it easy for manufacturers to get their products to market.”
The facility is expected to open next year and will employ approximately 50 people. Manufacturing will be added within a few years.
Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Trader Joe’s, Walmart and other retailers sell Kervan products. The company also manufactures branded candy.