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Food & Beverage
A GROWING FOOD INDUSTRY
Home to some of the world’s leading food companies, New Jersey has a long, celebrated history in the food industry. Our strategic location, transportation infrastructure and talented workforce give both industry giants and innovative startups the ability to stay competitive.
Campbell Soup Company has called Camden home since 1869 and continues to invest in its headquarters and the community. Mars Wrigley has been making M&Ms® in Hackettstown since 1958. The company moved into a new headquarters at Ironside Newark in 2020, bringing with it 500 jobs. Bai Brands, maker of coffeefruit-infused beverages, was launched out of a Princeton basement in 2009. In 2017, Dr Pepper Snapple Group bought Bai for $1.7 billion.
Saveur magazine called New Jersey the “most edible state in America” and Public Radio International dubbed us the “food capital of America.” New Jersey is the diner capital of the world with over 500 diners located here. Forget Philly…the best cheesesteaks are in Jersey, specifically Donkey’s Place in Camden. So said the late Anthony Bourdain. The New York Times proclaimed the best New York pizza is made at Razza in Jersey City. Cultural experiences of every kind can be found here—New Jersey’s deep immigrant roots contribute to a diverse dining scene and ethnic food production hub.
STRATEGIC LOCATION MEETS AFFORDABLE SPACE
New Jersey’s strategic location and transportation infrastructure help food companies succeed. That’s why Wakefern Food Corporation, the nation’s largest retailer-owned cooperative, and Atalanta, the nation’s largest privately held food importer, are both headquartered here. More than 1/3 of the 100 major food companies in the U.S. have a presence in New Jersey.
Strategically located in the middle of the Boston – New York City – Washington D.C. corridor, New Jersey provides easy access to one of the most affluent consumer markets in the world. A distribution center in central New Jersey can serve more than 38 million consumers within 150 miles. Companies that rely on same-day deliveries recognize that our State gives them a competitive advantage.
The Port of New York and New Jersey, the 2nd busiest port in North America and the largest on the East Coast, make it easy to import and export food products. New Jersey is the #1 state in the Northeast for share of food production exports.
Many food companies are equally attracted to the State’s affordable real estate, which offers them more space for the money than neighboring New York. Oatly, the Swedish leader of the non-dairy revolution, chose a South Jersey location to meet North American demand for oat milk. In 2018, Oatly opened a $15 million, 25,000 square-foot U.S. processing plant in Millville—the first outside Europe. Oatly was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2019.
A HIGHLY-EDUCATED WORKFORCE FUELS FOOD RESEARCH
Our State is a leader in food innovation breakthroughs. New Jersey companies offering unique products and flavors are in high demand from consumers across the world.
New Jersey’s workforce includes the highest concentration of scientists and engineers per square mile in the U.S. Our State is also home to the #2 largest pool of food technologists and scientists in the country. Many of those professionals were trained here, as Rutgers University’s graduate food science program is rated among the top 5 in the world.
Nestlé Health Science, one of the subsidiaries of the Swiss food and beverage giant, chose to build its new headquarters and R&D facility in New Jersey. Nestlé cited the “commercial and technical competence” of the New Jersey region’s workforce as a key factor in the company’s decision.
New Jersey is also home to 142 of the worlds’ leading flavor and extract manufacturers. In fact, 8 of the top 10 flavor and extract companies worldwide have a presence in New Jersey. The concentration of jobs and wages in the flavor and extract industry in New Jersey is 4x the national average.
| wdt_ID | NEW JERSEY’S TOP FLAVOR, FRAGRANCE AND INGREDIENT MANUFACTURERS |
|---|---|
| 1 | Givaudan |
| 2 | Firmenich |
| 3 | IFF International Flavors & Fragrances |
| 4 | Symrise |
| 5 | Takasago |
| 6 | Mane |
| 8 | Sensient Flavors |
| 9 | Robertet |
Perfumer & Flavorist, Flavor & Fragrance Leaderboard, 2020
JERSEY FRESH
True to our name as The Garden State, New Jersey’s rich agricultural history serves as the foundation of our food ecosystem. With more than 9,000 farms spread across 715,000 acres, New Jersey generates $1.1 billion in farm revenue annually. New Jersey ranking as a top producer of cranberries, bell peppers, spinach, peaches, blueberries, cucumbers and tomatoes. Nowhere else is “farm to table” more of a reality than New Jersey.
Considering we are also the most densely populated state in the country, it makes sense that New Jersey is on the forefront of the urban farm movement. AeroFarms – the world’s largest indoor vertical farm – grows leafy greens year-round without sunlight, soil or pesticides within a 70,000 square-foot converted steel mill in Newark’s Ironbound section. Since 2004, AeroFarms has reinvented farming as we know it and was named a finalist for Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas of 2020.
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STATE FOR EGGPLANT
Source: Department of Agriculture,
Jersey Fresh, 2018
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STATE FOR CRANBERRIES AND PEACHES
Source: Department of Agriculture,
Jersey Fresh, 2018
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STATE FOR SPINACH, ASPARAGUS, BELL PEPPERS
Source: Department of Agriculture,
Jersey Fresh, 2018
COMMERCIAL KITCHENS AND INCUBATORS
| wdt_ID | Incubator | City |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rutgers Food Innovation Center North | Piscataway |
| 2 | Rutgers Food Innovation Center South | Bridgeton |
| 3 | Organic Food Incubator | Bloomfield |
| 4 | Garden State Kitchen | Orange |
| 5 | Hudson Kitchen | Kearny Point, Kearny |
| 6 | The Kale Factory Incubator | Paterson |
| 7 | Cherry Street Kitchen | Trenton |
| 8 | Food Specialization Center | Bridgeton |
New Jersey is home to commercial kitchens and food incubators that offer affordable space, equipment and resources for companies looking to scale.
The award-winning Rutgers Food Innovation Center (FIC) is a unique business incubation and economic accelerator that offers marketing, technical, regulatory, and manufacturing expertise to U.S. companies as well as international businesses looking to establish a presence in the U.S. FIC’s state-of-the-art USDA and FDA-inspected food processing facility has served more than 1,500 clients since 2001. FIC is the only “Soft Landings” incubator in the world devoted to food, providing valuable support to startups and established food companies alike.
Impossible Foods, maker of the plant-based Impossible Burger, credits FIC as critical to its scale up path to develop production lines and seed the market.
A THRIVING ETHNIC FOOD HUB
Every culture, palate and delicacy is celebrated in New Jersey. We are home to the third largest population of foreign-born residents in the nation. From authentic Portuguese pastel de nata in Newark’s Ironbound section to some of the best Indian restaurants in the country in Edison, our State is a mecca for ethnic cuisine. Many international food companies see New Jersey as a cultural match, thanks in part to our diversity and ability to reach key markets.
Goya Foods, the largest Hispanic food company in the U.S., has been a cornerstone of the State’s business community since 1974. Goya unveiled a new, state-of-the-art corporate headquarters and distribution facility in Jersey City in 2015 as part of a $250-million investment at its three New Jersey facilities. The new Secaucus plant has a net zero carbon footprint and is equipped to manufacture and distribute more than 4 million cases of Goya products annually. An innovative continuous motion line produces 600 boxes of Goya’s rice mixes per minute at a rate six times faster than the company’s past production capability.
TOP NEW JERSEY FOOD COMPANIES
Many leading and growing food companies have headquarters or significant manufacturing and distribution operations in New Jersey. Here are just a few:
| wdt_ID | Top Companies |
|---|---|
| 1 | Wakefern Food Corporation |
| 2 | Campbell’s Soup Company |
| 3 | Atalanta |
| 4 | Bai Brands |
| 5 | B&G Foods |
| 7 | Bridor USA, Inc. |
| 8 | Cadbury Adams |
| 9 | Clement Pappas & Co. |
| 10 | Firmenich |
| 11 | Fratelli Beretta |
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Resources to SUPPORT GROWTH
Food and beverage companies may qualify for a number of attractive incentives and workforce development programs to help locate or expand their operations in New Jersey.
Workforce Training Grants
Competitively awarded training grants help companies develop industry-specific solutions to workforce challenges.
Learn MoreNJ Ignite
Provides free rent support for entrepreneurs seeking to operate in collaborative workspaces, while providing workspaces with a competitive advantage and greater value proposition to offer prospective tenants.
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Ryan Fox
Business Development Officer
Bill Noonan
Acting Chief Business Development Officer