Two factory workers hold Crunch bars hot off the line at Nestlé's new factory in Egypt. Photo provided.

Nestlé has inaugurated its first-ever confectionery plant in Egypt.

The new plant is in the 6th of October City is slated to produce Crunch, the company’s first chocolate snack to be made in Egypt.

Reuters reports that, “the new plant in 6th of October City on the outskirts of Cairo is a 65 million-Egyptian-pound ($9 million) extension to Nestle's existing dry goods factory [used] for products such as Maggi and Nescafe.”

“Egypt is an important trade and production center for Nestlé. Our factories here produce and supply some of Nestlé’s biggest brands for the entire region,” says Nandu Nandkishore, Executive Vice President Nestlé SA and Zone Director for Asia, Oceania, Africa and the Middle East.

Egypt’s snack food industry — currently estimated at USD $1.6 billion —  is growing rapidly, and the company plans to further utilize its latest plant addition to bring more confectionery brands to the local market in the future.

“This latest expansion project is particularly special for the company. Since 2011, we have invested close to 1 billion EGP in Egypt and doubled our local workforce to 6,300 employees. This proves Nestlé’s commitment to the Egyptian market and the importance of its large-scale labour and consumer potential,” Nandkishore explains.