Farmer Jon’s Popcorn has chosen Lakeland for its first expansion beyond its Iowa farm and three-year-old Rochester, N.Y., manufacturing plant.

The company known for the hull-less and flavored popcorns it sells on QVC plans to invest $3 million in machinery and refitting a 7,280-square-foot building it’s leasing from The Ruthvens at 4000 N. Combee Road, according to the Central Florida Development Council. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of the month.

Farmer Jon’s plans to hire about 25 local employees in packaging, production and warehousing during the next 18 months and will advertise positions on its Facebook page. A plant manager already lives in the area.

Products manufactured in the Lakeland plant, which is near I-4, will be shipped throughout the South, helping the company save on shipping, its biggest expense.

“The location allows rapid growth without having to relocate. We can get up to 30,000 or 40,000 square feet in the next year if we need to,” co-owner Peter Causyn said.

Learn more via the Central Florida Development Council.

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Barry Friedman founded Lkldnow.com in 2015 as the culmination of a career in print and digital journalism. Since 1982, he has used the tools of reporting, editing and content curation to help people in Lakeland understand their community better.

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