J&J Snack Foods says it has now largely completed the consolidation of its production footprint, marking a key milestone in its broader transformation programme, CFO Shawn Munsell told investors in early May.
The plan, which included the closure of three manufacturing sites in Atlanta; Holly Ridge, North Carolina; and Colton, California, is expected to generate around $15 million in annual savings linked to the company’s “Project Apollo” initiative.
With the plant rationalisation phase now essentially wrapped up by the end of Q1 2026, the company is shifting its attention to the next stage of the programme: cutting administrative and distribution costs, which are expected to deliver the remaining $5 million in annual savings.
According to Munsell, around $3 million of those gains should come directly from distribution efficiency improvements in the second half of the fiscal year.
In the second quarter alone, distribution costs represented 12.1% of sales, slightly higher than the 11.7% recorded a year earlier. The increase was driven by several factors, including higher fuel costs, weather-related dry-ice expenses, and a reclassification of certain costs from cost of sales into distribution. Munsell also pointed to roughly $400,000 in additional pressure linked to higher diesel prices in March.
Over the past two years, J&J Snack Foods has been restructuring its logistics footprint by moving toward a regional distribution centre model designed to bring inventory closer to customers and simplify its warehouse network.
The company’s approach mirrors broader moves seen across the food industry, with manufacturers such as Hormel Foods and PepsiCo also reshaping their production and distribution networks as they look to improve efficiency and reduce structural costs.
