Marson Foods opens Hazelwood waffle production facility

Waffle production and distribution in Hazelwood

Marson Foods LLC has opened a $35 million, 147,000-square-foot bakery and distribution facility in Hazelwood, Missouri. The Carson City, Nevada-based manufacturer supplies waffle products to K-12 schools and foodservice customers through distributors and brokers. Its products are formulated to meet school nutrition requirements.

Operations began in October 2023 with 16 employees. The expansion announcement envisages 45 new jobs. The company gives annual capacity as 150 million waffles, with production running at roughly 25,000 waffles per hour.

Production and development capabilities

The facility includes automated production, research and development capabilities and 12,000 square feet of automated freezer capacity. Space remains for five additional production lines.

Founders Jan and Dave Marson previously owned Nature’s Bakery, which they sold to KIND, part of the Mars family of companies. Marson Foods is pursuing private-label and co-manufacturing partnerships.

Marson Foods.

The Hazelwood project and its local partners

The 2022 plan anticipated 45–53 jobs with an average annual salary of $112,400. The original project plan, announced in July 2022, provided for leased manufacturing and warehouse space at 1590 Tradeport Drive in Hazelwood Trade Port. Kansas City-based NorthPoint Development owns and develops the industrial park and helped introduce the location to Marson Foods. The 325-acre park opened in 2018 near the former St. Louis Outlet Mall.

Margaret Riter of Steadfast City Economic & Community Partners led the project. Missouri Partnership engaged Greater St. Louis, Inc., which supplied information and support on opportunities within the bi-state metropolitan area. The original announcement targeted production in the fourth quarter of 2022; the subsequent startup occurred in October 2023.

Products for institutional customers

Marson Foods’ institutional portfolio includes:

Waffle Envy Artisan Belgian Liege Waffles;
Wow Wow Classic Waffles.

The brands serve institutional food channels, principally K-12 schools. The Hazelwood manufacturing and warehousing project expanded the company’s production footprint beyond its Carson City base.