A €14.7 million investment in Hellmann’s Pouso Alegre nutrition factory in Brazil is set to enhance operational excellence and meet increasing consumer demand for the brand’s squeeze bottle products. We spoke to the team to find out more.

Last year the demand for mayonnaise in squeeze bottles grew by 30% in volume year on year (Nielsen’s Total Market Brazil FY 2023).
A €14.7 million investment in the Pouso Alegre factory in Brazil is set to satisfy growing consumer demand by increasing squeeze bottle production capacity by double digits.
The Pouso Alegre plant is already a leader in sustainable operational excellence, thanks to its state-of-the-art biodigester that delivers 100% of the thermal renewable energy needed.
Hellmann’s is powering up a new factory line at its Pouso Alegre plant in Brazil in order to satisfy the fast-growing consumer appetite for its squeeze bottle sauces.

By increasing production capacity by double digits, the €14.7 million investment will ensure factory output keeps pace with soaring demand for the squeeze bottle format which overall grew 30% in volume across the Brazil market in 2023 (Nielsen’s Total Market Brazil FY 2023).

“We are growing at double digits across the business in Brazil, mainly in squeeze bottle lines. Every month we are gaining market share and we need more capacity,” explains Edmundo Mollo, Factory Director at Pouso Alegre.

Optimising performance and maximising outputs
Edmundo admits that rocketing demand is a nice problem to have, especially as the factory investment will ensure that efficacy is supported by the latest technological advancements.

The Pouso Alegre plant is already a leader in sustainable operational excellence, thanks to its state-of-the-art biodigester. Since its instalment last year, the biodigester has delivered 100% of the thermal renewable energy needed to power the plant.

Now, thanks to the new investment, the factory can enhance operational excellence further.

“It gives us the opportunity to further optimise in terms of performance, equipment components and data collection,” he says, adding that machine learning and AI will allow continual improvement of the factory’s efficiency.