Consumer goods major Dabur India will invest Rs 400 crore in Tamil Nadu to set up a new plant, marking its first manufacturing foray in the south.

The company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu government to establish a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in the SIPCOT Food Park, located in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district.

The company will invest Rs 135 crore in phase I, scaling up to Rs 400 crore over a period of five years. The project is expected to generate direct employment for around 250 people.

The move to set up a plant comes as Dabur looks to scale up its business in the south, aiming to address region-specific needs, a strategy that most fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are aggressively pursuing in their quest for growth.

At present, Dabur has 14 manufacturing plants across the country, mainly in the northern and central parts of the country.

The Tamil Nadu unit would be its 15th plant and may pave the way for more such factories in the south, company officials said.