StatusBar plugin color not working with --prod build

I have the same issue. I’ve even tried adding this to the config:
<preference name="StatusBarBackgroundColor" value="#2F2E33" />

Works perfectly without the --prod build flag.

The backgroundColorByHexString is also been called in ionic ready.

This is android@6.3.0 with the following:

    <preference name="android-minSdkVersion" value="16" />
    <preference name="android-targetSdkVersion" value="26" />