Mississippi-based Cotton Blues has announced that it is expanding its production capabilities with a forthcoming state-of-the-art culinary production facility in Waynesboro, Mississippi. The space will add 15,000 square feet of kitchen prep and storage to support added distribution of the brand’s range of retail frozen cheesecakes to new states across the Southeastern United States.
The company, known for its four handcrafted varieties of cheesecake, experienced a 40 percent spike in sales from 2018 to 2019 and hopes that expansion will allow for exponential growth across the nation in 2020 and beyond.
“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,” says Chris Ortego, founder and operator of Cotton Blues.
The expansion will feature 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 500-1,000 ready-to-ship cheesecakes daily.
Produced by pastry chef Shaun Davis, these cheesecakes are currently available for pre-order at grocers and retailers. The project is expected to be complete and fully operational by March 1, 2020, with initial shipments to new markets beginning in the spring.