Kikkoman cut the ribbon on its new $560 million soy sauce production facility in Jefferson, Wisconsin, capping a decade-long investment and marking the company's third U.S. manufacturing plant. The 240,000-square-foot facility will produce soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and other seasonings for North American demand.
According to OnMilwaukee, Kikkoman has invested roughly $560 million in the Jefferson plant over the past decade, and the facility is expected to create more than 80 jobs. That figure lines up with state projections: the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation says Kikkoman's broader $800 million commitment across Jefferson and its existing Walworth plant is projected to create at least 83 high-paying jobs in the state over a 12-year period, according to a Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation statement. The relatively modest headcount reflects the plant's high degree of automation and use of mobile technology, per the same agency's account.
OnMilwaukee reported on the grand-opening celebration in Jefferson.
A Decade in the Making, Decades of History Behind It
Kikkoman has operated in Wisconsin since 1973, when its Walworth plant became the company's first production facility in the United States — and, more broadly, one of the first production facilities built by a Japanese company on American soil, according to Kikkoman USA. Over the following 50 years, that plant's output grew 30-fold, making it the highest-producing soy sauce facility in the Western world. Kikkoman opened a second U.S. plant in Folsom, California, in 1998 before Jefferson became its third, the company noted in a statement.
Kikkoman announced the Jefferson site on April 24, 2024, according to Kikkoman Corporation. Site preparation was in progress, and construction was expected to begin in June. Soy sauce brewing operations commenced this past May to accommodate the multi-month fermentation process the product requires, and initial commercial shipments are scheduled for October, following the ceremonial opening. The company selected the 100-acre Jefferson site after a multi-year nationwide search that evaluated 64 candidate locations across the Midwest, weighing water purity, regional agricultural supplies and transport logistics.
Jefferson County's Long-Sought Anchor Tenant
The new plant serves as the anchor tenant for Jefferson County's 200-acre Food and Beverage Innovation Campus, an industrial park using 175 acres of county-owned land, according to Thrive Economic Development. The county is using the acreage for an industrial park, and Kikkoman's arrival is a major addition to the campus.
Kikkoman's past philanthropy in the state includes a 2023 gift marking 50 years of Wisconsin operations: the Kikkoman Foods Inc. Foundation donated $5 million to state universities, including $3 million to UW-Madison and $2 million to UW-Milwaukee, for agricultural and freshwater studies, according to Food Manufacturing.
Part of a Bigger Wave of Foreign Investment
To support the full $800 million expansion — which pairs the Jefferson plant with nearly $250 million in upgrades at the Walworth facility — the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation approved up to $15.5 million in performance-based tax credits, tied to job creation and capital investment benchmarks over time. Japan currently ranks as Wisconsin's 11th-largest trade partner, with 81 Japanese companies running more than 224 operations statewide and employing roughly 9,000 workers, the agency notes.
Jefferson County has attracted foreign investment announcements, including Kikkoman's plant and an expansion from Swiss-owned Nestlé Purina, according to Thrive Economic Development. Kikkoman's Jefferson build is part of the region's industrial development.
