Chupa Chups reopens Russian confectionery factory

Eurofood, Jan 28, 1999

Spanish sugar confectionery manufacturer Chupa Chups has resumed production at the St. Petersburg factory it closed down in September amid economic chaos and exchange rate instability. Tatiana Konyaschenkova, Chupa Chups' PR manager, said that the collapse of the rouble had left prices too high for hard candies and the company had run into problems selling its goods.

Chupa Chups invested US$12.9m (??11.1m) in setting up the St. Petersburg factory, which has the capacity to churn out 600 million items of sugar confectioniery. It produced 180 million before the crisis, most of which have now been sold. Konyaschenkova said the company has now secured local supplies of raw materials and packaging to keep down its rouble costs. Chupa Chups, however, has dropped plans for an additional investment of US$4m in the factory by the year 2000.