Conagra Plans $220M Expansion of Fayetteville Manufacturing Site

A Google Street View image of Conagra's manufacturing facility in Fayetteville (© Google)

Consumer packaged goods maker Conagra Brands Inc. of Chicago plans to invest $220 million in an expansion of its Fayetteville manufacturing facility, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission announced Friday.

The project is expected to create more than 100 jobs over the next five years.

The Fayetteville facility currently produces ready-to-eat meals for multiple brand labels, including Hungry-Man, Banquet, Healthy Choice and Gardein. Each year, the facility produces about 15 million cases of product.

The expansion aims to increase Conagra’s chicken production capacity.

Construction is set to begin later this year.

“This significant investment in our Fayetteville facility will allow us to continue to grow our leading frozen foods business,” Craig Weiss, the company’s senior vice president of supply chain, said in a news release. 

The Fayetteville facility opened more than 50 years ago. Conagra acquired it in 2018 from Pinnacle Foods Inc. of Parsippany, New Jersey.

Conagra also has a manufacturing site in Russellville. The publicly traded company (NYSE: CAG) employs about 2,000 people in Arkansas, and about 18,300 people across the U.S.

Conagra’s profit soared in 2025 despite lower sales, largely due to the divestiture of Chef Boyardee and frozen seafood brands. The company also reported savings from improved productivity and from supply-chain efficiencies. Net income was $1.15 billion, up from $347 million the previous year. Revenue fell 3.6% to $11.6 billion.

The Fayetteville expansion qualified for the following state incentives: Advantage Arkansas, which provides state income tax credit for job creation based on the number of new employees hired as a result of the project, and the Modernization and Automation Tax Credit, a new incentive providing a tax credit of up to 5% on eligible project costs.