v2food has secured a factory site in Wodonga, Victoria, with the plant-based meat company expecting to invest around $20 million in the facility. The new site follows only a week after the company’s $32 million Series A funding announcement.
The purchase of the dormant 55,470 square-metre building in Wodonga will see it upgraded to a “world-class food-grade” facility, including installation of new equipment, with plans to employ around 40-50 local workers.
v2food said it surveyed around 50 locations before confirming the site at Moloney Drive, as it is “critical that v2 can locally produce plant-based meat in order to make the most of Australia's expertise as one of the leading global meat producers and export an Australian success story across the globe”.
In August, the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) told Food & Drink Business that food and grocery processing in northern Victoria was the second largest contributor in terms of output, and the eighth largest employer across the four federal electorates of Mallee, Bendigo, Nicholls and Indi, which includes Wodonga. The region generates $9.23 billion a year and employs 14,221 people.
The Wodonga factory will form part of v2food’s supply chain and will allow local farmers to supply to the plant-based industry with Australian-grown ingredients.
The company is behind Hungry Jack’s Rebel Whopper and officially launched in October, with plans for more product launches in 2020.
