Kikkoman breaks ground for Jefferson soy sauce plant

Jefferson production project

Kikkoman broke ground for its new Jefferson, Wisconsin, production facility on 12th June 2024. The approximately 240,000-square-foot plant will make soy sauce and related seasonings, including teriyaki sauce. The company plans its first shipments for autumn 2026 and expects the project to create more than 80 jobs over twelve years.

The Jefferson investment is approximately $560 million over ten years. A broader Wisconsin programme of at least $800 million also includes expansion at Walworth. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation will provide up to $15.5 million in performance-based tax credits. The Jefferson plans include:

A site of approximately 100 acres.
Automated production with mobile technology.
Equipment designed for flexibility and scalability.

Wisconsin production and community links

Kikkoman’s Walworth operation began shipping soy sauce in 1973 as the group’s first overseas production plant. By its fiftieth anniversary in 2023, production capacity was approximately thirty times the initial level, according to the company.

Walworth offered access to raw materials, good-quality water and convenient logistics. Traditional soy sauce brewing uses water, soybeans, wheat and salt. Kikkoman also developed recipes incorporating soy sauce into familiar American dishes, alongside its promotion of the seasoning for meat.

The fiftieth-anniversary events took place in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, on 8th and 9th June 2023, with around 670 participants. Governor Tony Evers attended, alongside food-distribution executives and media representatives from Japan and the United States.

The Kikkoman Foods, Inc. Foundation announced research donations of $3 million to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for agriculture and $2 million to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for freshwater studies. Honorary chief executive and board chairman Yuzaburo Mogi emphasised cooperation with local communities.

California production and western distribution

Kikkoman’s Folsom, California, facility is its second US production plant. Its twenty-fifth-anniversary reception was held on 18th November 2023, with approximately sixty guests, including state and Sacramento County officials. Kikkoman Foods chief executive Osamu Mogi received a county proclamation and a certificate of achievement from the City of Folsom.

The California plant was established to serve growing North American demand and improve distribution to western customers, including industrial and food-service users. Kikkoman identified Folsom’s water supply and access to major consumption areas as advantages, including same-day or next-day deliveries to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Its anniversary support included donations to the Los Rios Colleges Foundation and Folsom-Cordova Unified School District.