Cotton Blues is proud to announce it is expanding production capabilities with a forthcoming state-of-the-art culinary production facility in Waynesboro, Mississippi. The space adds 15,000 square feet of kitchen prep and storage to support added distribution of the brand’s wildly popular range of retail frozen cheesecakes. The namesake family-owned restaurant is well known for its four handcrafted varieties of cheesecake and the added production capacity will allow expansion across the state as well as to grocers in neighboring Southern states. Retail availability is updated regularly at https://cottonblues.com/cheesecake/. Cotton Blues Cheesecakes experienced a 40 percent spike in sales from 2018 to 2019 and the company is optimistic the expansion will allow for exponential growth across the nation in 2020 and beyond.
Founder and operator of Cotton Blues restaurant, Chris Ortego says, “From the first night we served our cheesecake, the feedback and high demand of the product has been extremely rewarding. It is thrilling to see people across the country falling in love with our recipe the same way I did, and our measured growth will enable us to meet customers in new markets without sacrificing quality.”
In the coming months, Cotton Blues Cheesecakes looks to hire a number of new culinary and operations professionals to support the growing business and allow it to maintain a commitment to producing small-batch, handcrafted products. As production of the signature cheesecakes begins in the new facility, current customers will find them at more locations. The expansion features state of the art walk-in Revent ovens, which can cook up to 120 cheesecakes simultaneously. As the facility allows for greater volume, Ortego estimates the company will have the potential to make 500-1000 of ready to ship cheesecakes daily.
Currently, grocers and retailers can preorder inventory of Cotton Blues Cheesecake produced in restaurant by Pastry Chef Shaun Davis. As the company grows, Davis and Ortego are committed to maintaining the integrity of each product and are exploring upgrades to packaging and shipping solutions allowing for easy transport to new locations. The streamlined distribution process will provide opportunities to sell to larger retailers with broad footprints across the region.
Ortego has been considering opening a production facility like this for some time, as the popularity and sales of the company’s cheesecakes have skyrocketed in recent years. The brand conducted market research in 2019, which demonstrated Cotton Blues top customers are those who enjoy gourmet desserts, which could be served at gatherings with family and friends.
The operations team expects the project to be complete and fully operational by March 1, 2020 with initial shipments to new markets beginning this spring.
Cotton Blues restaurant is located at 6116 US-98, Hattiesburg, MS and is open Monday through Friday from 11AM-9PM, Friday through Saturday from 11AM-10PM and Sunday from 11AM-8PM. For more information about Cotton Blues restaurant or its retail cheesecakes, please visit www.cottonblues.com and follow along on Twitter at @CottonBluesMS and Instagram at @cottonblues.
