South Korean company CJ Foodville Corporation announced this week it will invest more than $47 million to build a new bakery and food processing facility in Gainesville.

A subsidiary of CJ Group, CJ Foodville is one of the largest food service and food processing companies in South Korea.

The company made its first overseas expansion and entered the U.S. market in 2004 with its TOUS les JOURS bakery café brand, which currently has four storefronts in Georgia.

CJ Foodville’s new facility will be located at the Gainesville Business Park northeast of Atlanta and is expected to be operational in 2025, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD).

Once operational, the facility is expected to produce more than 19,000 tons of products per year at full capacity, GDEcD notes.

The project is expected to create 285 new jobs in Hall County.

“Based on our strong profitability, we have decided to establish a factory in the U.S. to enhance our production and supply capabilities in response to the expanding scale of the TOUS les JOURS business,” Tony Hunsoo Ahn, CEO of CJ Foodville USA said in a statement. “We are committed to promoting the unique competitiveness of the K-Bakery, which is built upon excellent product quality in a diverse range of bread and cakes. Our ultimate goal is to establish the TOUS les JOURS brand as a globally cherished bakery brand that transcends borders and captivates palates worldwide.”

South Korea was one of the top three international sources of job creation in Georgia during the Fiscal Year 2023, as previously reported by The Georgia Star News.

Just last month, two South Korean companies announced investment projects in the Peach State – Duckshin Housing announced it would invest more than $15 million to establish its first U.S. manufacturing presence in Athens and Daesol Ausy announced it will invest $72 million to establish a new manufacturing facility in Harris County.

In addition, as noted by GDEcD, half of the United States’ top 100 food processing companies operate in the Peach State.

“Locations of new and expanding food processing companies ranked among the greatest number of new industrial projects during fiscal year 2022 and resulted in more than $923 million in investment in fiscal year 2023,” GDEcD adds.

– – –

Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network.