Today is all about what tomorrow will bring. That’s the focus of G&S Foods as it enters the next chapter of its burgeoning business.

The Hanover, Pa.-based co-packer and private label producer recently opened its 350,000-square-foot greenfield facility that’s part snack and part confectionery with almost a dozen state-of-the-art salted snack and enrobing production lines and room for more.

The operation cranks out not only conventional salted snacks but also sweet-and-salty treats such as enrobed pretzels as well as a litany of better-for-you (BFY) snacks that are expected to drive the industry’s growth for years to come.

Dan Morgan, president and chief executive officer, takes a page from the sport of hockey to describe how the company differentiates itself in the market.

“We’re a well-funded business with a good strategic plan that follows upcoming or existing trends, depending on where the consumer is heading,” he explained. “It’s that old adage of ‘Go where the puck is going to be as opposed to go where the puck is now.’ ”

He added that emerging snacks are often made from formulas containing multiple plant-based proteins and other newly developed ingredients that make them difficult to produce, especially in high volumes to meet the requests of major consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies. The co-manufacturer also serves well-funded emerging brands that are driving innovation in the snack industry.

“What makes us different is preparing for where the industry is going,” he observed. “And where is the industry going, you might ask? It’s not only going to be in the production of straight mini pretzels but also protein snacks and more complicated BFY snacks. We are, and will remain, well-equipped to continue to manufacture a wide range of traditional snacks found in the market today.”

The Hanover facility replaces G&S Foods’ 110,000-square-foot plant in Abbottstown, Pa., where the business began to max out on capacity four years ago. In 2022, the company set into motion the plan to streamline its production and consolidate its warehouses and offices under one roof.

“I was surprised how fast we grew out of the Abbottstown plant, and because of that growth, we needed to address the lack of capacity much sooner than we thought,” recalled Morgan, who became CEO in 2021. “We looked at trying to modify or remodel our existing plant but quickly realized that it wouldn’t suit our long-term plans.”

Currently, the new facility has ample room to add more snack processing and enrobing capacity as well as the latest in resealable pouches, traditional vertical form/fill/seal bags and other packaging systems.

The emphasis is not only creating cutting-edge snacks but also those products that other companies cannot do or don’t want to make.

“In two-thirds of the plant, we can make the base snacks, and in the other third, we can enrobe those products with milk chocolate, dark chocolate or white fudge,” Morgan said. “We have a real turnkey operation from making the base snacks and turning them into enrobed ones, which is unique.”

Overall, he emphasized the new plant represents a major upgrade in the company’s production capabilities.

“With a tripling of overall capacity, we can significantly expand our production of salty items like pretzels and increase single-screw and valuable twin-screw extrusion capabilities,” Morgan noted. “For sweet items, we benefit from greater enrobing capacity, additional bulk tank options and the ability to expand these lines in the future.”

Nobody knows exactly what tomorrow will bring, but for G&S Foods, the best is yet to come.

This article is an excerpt from the March 2025 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on G&S Foods, click here.