The Campbell’s Company plans to close a potato chip plant in Massachusetts, shifting production to other facilities in an effort to boost efficiency.
Campbell’s will cease operations at its Hyannis manufacturing site, which produces Cape Cod and Kettle Brand chips, in April and sell the facility. It is the smallest potato chip plant in Campbell’s network in terms of size and volume. The company said the closure will impact 49 employees.
“This difficult decision reflects a careful assessment of our business needs to strengthen our operations and position our Snacks business for long-term growth,” Elizabeth Duggan, president of Campbell’s Snacks, said in a statement.
Cape Cod chips was founded in Hyannis in 1980, and the plant has been in operation since 1985, according to Campbell’s. The company acquired the brand as part of its nearly $5 billion purchase of Snyder's-Lance in 2018.
As the Cape Cod brand has grown, production has increased at other snack locations, including at plants in Beloit, Wisconsin; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Hanover, Pennsylvania. The Hyannis location produces only 4% of the total annual volume of Cape Cod chips “and the site no longer makes economic sense for the business,” Campbell’s said.
Similar to other food companies such as PepsiCo and General Mills, Campbell’s has closed and consolidated some facilities throughout its network while increasing efficiencies elsewhere.
In 2023, Campbell’s said it would invest $50 million and add 330 workers at its New Jersey headquarters while closing snack offices in Charlotte and Norwalk, Connecticut.
A year later, Campbell’s announced it was closing a Pacific soup and broth plant and reducing the size of a separate potato chip facility. The maker of Rao’s, Late July and V8 also said it planned to invest $230 million through fiscal 2026 in newer, more efficient plants.
