Ahead of its national and global expansion, the U.S. arm of Portuguese juice maker Sonatural has chosen Malvern to manufacture its products, writes Kenneth Hilario for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Sofresco, which is Sonatural’s U.S. brand, has partnered with Georgia-based Universal Pure to start producing juice in a facility at 8 Lee Boulevard. Before making the decision, Sofresco considered Chicago, New Jersey, and Atlanta as possible locations.

Currently, Sonatural sells its products in 24 countries on five continents in retailers and food chains, one of which is Aldi.

The company that describes itself as the top fresh-juice brand in Europe is looking to hire between 15 and 20 local employees in “highly skilled management and factory jobs.”

Sonatural also plans to source its produce from Pennsylvania farmers and cooperatives and surrounding states.

The opening of the manufacturing plant is a part of the push by Chester County officials to build relationships with international markets.

“We embrace they’re a Portuguese company,” said Michael Grigalonis, COO of the Chester County Economic Development Council. “We’re very proactive and very aggressive in terms of trying to get international companies to invest here in Chester County.”

Read more about Sonatural in the Philadelphia Business Journal here.

[uam_ad id=”80503″]

.

[uam_ad id=”80502″]