ARLINGTON, VA. — Nestle USA has announced plans to close its Sweet Earth Foods facility located in Moss Landing, Calif. The closing will affect 140 employees.

As part of the move, Nestle said it will shift production of the Sweet Earth products to its facility in Solon, Ohio.

“This move will help optimize production and utilization across our meals manufacturing network, as well as streamline delivery to our customers,” Nestle said. “Sweet Earth remains an important part of our foods portfolio as we continue to provide consumers with delicious food choices to meet their needs.”

Nestle acquired Sweet Earth, a manufacturer of plant-based foods, including frozen meals, burritos, breakfast sandwiches and chilled plant-based burgers and proteins, in 2017. At that time, Nestle said the addition of Sweet Earth gave it “immediate entry into the plant-based foods segment, which is growing by double digits and expected to become a $5 billion market by 2020.” Last year, the Good Food Institute cited data from SPINS showing plant-based foods sales reached $7 billion in 2020.