Pepperidge Farm is planning to move their headquarters to New Jersey as Campbell’s Soup Co. plans to spend about $50 million to upgrade of its headquarters as it consolidates the central offices of snacks businesses from North Carolina and Connecticut.
Pepperidge Farm employed 170 people in Connecticut, and has offered to relocate them to their new headquarters.
Located off Route 1 in Norwalk, the 100,000 square-foot facility will be listed for sale.
The company, which is now owned by Campbell Soup, was opened by Margaret Rudkin in 1947.
A Snyder's pretzel bakery and other operations in Hanover, Pennsylvania, will not be affected by the changes, and the company will continue to operate its Pepperidge Farm bakery in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Campbell's also said Charlotte will remain a key manufacturing and distribution center for the company.
The headquarters upgrade and expansion, aided by unspecified tax incentives from New Jersey, will start in March and should take about three years to complete. Campbell's plans to upgrade existing space and construct new buildings, including a campus center and a snacks research and development center and pilot plant.
Having one snacks headquarters is expected to save Campbell $10 million annually within a few years, the company said. The savings will be partially reinvested in the business and are included in the company’s plan to increase margins in the snacks division. No commercial roles are being eliminated related to the closing of the Charlotte and Norwalk buildings, officials said.
