USD66m Investment Into the Development of Bluebird’s Auckland Factory

With a USD26m or more vending machine packing machine currently under construction, Bluebird claims that its parent firm PepsiCo has committed over USD66m in the expansion of its Auckland factory.

The maker of potato chips in Wiri, Auckland, claims that since the Covid-19 pandemic began in early 2020, munching and consequently its sales have skyrocketed. Stuff reports that based on sales revenue of USD174.6m and an after-tax profit of just over USD4m in 2021, Bluebird made a profit of USD40m.

According to the accounts, USD111m was spent on sales, with distribution and sales accounting for the lion's share. Bluebird had a profit of USD10.3m on sales of USD173.4m in 2020. Bluebird claims to spend USD34m each year on New Zealand potatoes and corn and to consume approximately 33,000 tonnes of potatoes. The plant can produce 1.8 tonnes of potato chips per hour, or around 55 bags every minute.

According to Michelle Cassetari, general manager of Bluebird, the company has spent over USD40m on facility and factory expansion over the previous three years and is continuing to make investments for the construction of an automated warehouse storage facility close to its production.

Its automated storage and retrieval warehouse, which has a capacity of 13,500 chip pallets, cost USD26.5m to build. Robotics and a huge crane arm are used in the packaging warehouse to pick items and push them into delivery trucks. The greatest project for Bluebird is anticipated to be finished later this year.

Bluebird has plans to further streamline its operations, invest in regenerative agriculture, enhance its supply chain, and look into methods to make its snacks healthier. The company, which is now the top manufacturer of snack foods in New Zealand, was acquired by the multinational snack food juggernaut PepsiCo in 2007.