Niche Cocoa Industry Ltd. of Ghana is building its first North American manufacturing facility in Franklin in what is the largest food and beverage investment by an African company in U.S. history.
Representatives of Niche Cocoa joined local and federal officials to announce its new facility in the Franklin Business Park on Tuesday. The company is leasing 44,000 square feet in an existing industrial building at 9705 S. Oakwood Park Drive.
“The U.S. became a natural choice for expansion, given the market size and potential, to develop both semi-finished products and also selling more products up the value chain such as chocolates,” said Niche founder Edmund Poku.
“Taking into account proximity to customers, logistics, high-quality human capital, and a business-friendly environment, Wisconsin was a great choice,” Poku said.
The total project investment is $30 million, Poku said. The company is not receiving any incentive from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., according to WEDC CEO Missy Hughes.
That facility will employ up to 24 people, according to Tuesday’s announcement. Created in 2011 and based in Tema in Ghana – about 5,800 miles from Franklin – Niche manufactures cocoa products that are used to make chocolate, ice cream and baked goods.
Niche will import cocoa to Franklin, where it will be processed into powder, finished chocolate made with cocoa butter, and cocoa liquor. The company’s products are sent to other food and beverage companies as ingredients.
Niche Cocoa is partnering with The Omanhene Cocoa Bean Co. of Milwaukee, which was an early leader in producing single-origin, bean-to-bar chocolate manufactured in Ghana and helped attract Niche to the region.
“We’re proving that a country’s competitive advantages, paired with strategic global partnerships, lead to winning outcomes in unexpected places,” said Omanhene founder Steve Wallace. “Together, Omanhene and Niche demonstrate the promise of a new globalism where international trade creates jobs and value instead of exploiting vulnerabilities.”
Milwaukee 7, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and federal officials participated in the effort to bring Niche Cocoa to Franklin. U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Marisa Lago participated in Tuesday’s announcement.
“Niche’s investment here is more than just a new facility — it’s an investment in American workers and in the Franklin community,” Lago said. “I applaud Edmund Poku and our Department of Commerce team — including SelectUSA — that helped to facilitate this investment.”
SelectUSA is a federal Commerce Department program that attracts investment from foreign businesses.