Mars Shells Out $270M For Its First New Candy Factory In 35 Years

There are some things you can bet on it’s that there will always be someone, somewhere who wants chocolate. Unless our future alien overlords deprogram our taste for candy, that makes Mars Inc.’s $270 million factory, its first new factory in 35 years, a pretty safe investment.

Mars is opening the new plant’s doors in Topeka, KS, saying it had to build the plant to meet our country’s voracious appetite for M&Ms and Snicker, reports the Associated Press. The factory will be able to churn out 14 million bite-sized Snickers and 39 million M&M’s each day. No word on whether you need a golden ticket to go through the doors.

The factory is certainly providing a river of (non-chocolate, alas) money to the area, as the 500,000-square-foot facility is bringing around 200 jobs to the region. Which means America’s Breadbasket is also sort of America’s Desk Candy Jar.

Despite the possibility of economic misfortune in times ahead, because recessions have a way of coming back, candy is a pretty safe bet, says one analyst.

“There is little reason to suggest that, all of a sudden in the U.S., people will start to dislike chocolate,” he said.

Not unless we suffer a mass brainwashing at the hands of those aforementioned outerspace invaders, but I’m working on a plan to combat that possibility, so hang tight.

$270M chocolate plant proof of US’s sweet tooth [Associated Press]

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