Raising the bar
Building on the popularity of its world-famous cups and cartons, ice cream experts Häagen-Dazs began making stick bars two years ago and is now aiming to win a larger share of the market with mini-bars. The new Minis round out a line of 54 flavors and over 750 ice cream products sold around the world. To keep pace with fast-growing demand, the company plans to invest €10 million in a new production line and €4 million in increased capacity, for a total of €14 million. The Hauts-de-France region will also contribute €160,000, and Häagen-Dazs expects these sizable investments to raise annual output to over 160 million ice cream bars.
Ice-cream maker to the world
The Häagen-Dazs plant in Tilloy-lès-Mofflaines (Pas-de-Calais) celebrated its 25th birthday in 2017. With 345 permanent employees and 200 seasonal hires from mid-January to mid-September, it uses local milk, cream and eggs to make 62 million liters of ice cream annually, exported to over 90 countries around the world.