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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

UK-Based Veetee Foods Plans Selma, North Carolina, Production Operations

09/18/2024
UK-based Veetee Foods, Inc., a seller of heat-and-eat rice meals, plans to establish operations in Selma, North Carolina. The $35.7 million project is expected to create 200 jobs in Johnston County.

The new production facility will cook rice, pasta, noodles, spaghetti and a variety of other foods.

“We are delighted to see our ambitious expansion vision reach the USA, and we see Johnston County as our perfect partner,” said Moni and Rajiv Varma, the company’s Chairman and Managing Director, respectively. “We are humbled by this opportunity and are equally excited to unleash a wide range of delicious meals that families across the country will no doubt enjoy!”

The project is being supported, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee. Over the course of the 12-year term of this grant, the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by $586.3 million. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the new jobs, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $996,750, spread over 12 years. State payments only occur following performance verification by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets.

“We welcome Veetee Foods to North Carolina,” noted North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “This company started from entrepreneurial roots, passion, and a pursuit of product excellence that is the hallmark of our state’s most successful companies and I look forward to seeing this company grow even stronger in our state.”

The project's projected return on investment of public dollars is 90 percent, meaning for every dollar of potential cost, the state receives $1.90 in state revenue. JDIG projects result in positive net tax revenue to the state treasury, even after taking into consideration the grant’s reimbursement payments to a given company.

“Across farming, value-added processing and distribution, our ag economy is formidable – employing nearly 13,000 and adding $723 million to Johnston County’s annual gross domestic product (GDP),” added Chris Johnson, Director of the Johnston County Economic Development Office.”

Veetee Foods processes and packages Asian-style rice varieties such as Basmati and Pilau. In addition to its European markets, the company’s products are available in the U.S. at supermarket chains such as Wegman’s, Harris Teeter and Publix.

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