Food & Beverage
With Napa Valley and farming communities nearby, many familiar names originate here, including Anheuser-Busch, Jelly Belly, and Caymus Wines. Solano’s rural-urban mix means it has the capacity to support the complete agricultural supply chain, from crop and animal farming and ranching, through support services for agriculture and logistics, machine manufacturing, repair and maintenance; and container manufacturing. Large sites are available for expansion of food and beverage operations. This cluster has a strong location quotient and strong employment.
Overview of Food & Beverage Industry in Solano County
| Food & Beverage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 Avg. Annual Wages | 2016 Avg. Annual Empl | 2016 # Businesses | 2016 Location Quotient* | Regional Gross Product (Output) |
| $44,524 | 2,746 | 65 | 2.10 | $0.81 Billion |
| * Location quotient (LQ) is a way of quantifying how concentrated a particular industry, cluster, occupation, or demographic group is in a region as compared to the nation. An LQ higher than 1.0 means the region has higher-than-average concentrations of those industry assets. Source: Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages, Economic Forensics & Analytics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2016. |
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Food & Beverage Representative Businesses
| Food & Beverage Businesses in Solano County (a sampling) | |
|---|---|
| Company | Product or Service |
| Anheuser-Busch | Brewery |
| Guittard Chocolate | Chocolate Manufacturers |
| Jelly Belly Candy Company | Candy Manufacturer |
| Mariani Packing Company | Crop Packaging Manufacturer |
| Superior Farms Company | Meat Packing Manufacturers |
| Valley Fine Food Inc. | Frozen Food Manufacturers |
Operating Costs, Food Processing
| Estimated Operating Costs Comparison of Food Processing industry | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metro Area | Employee Payroll | Fringe & Mandated Benefits | Utilities | Building/Lease Payments | Property Tax | Total |
| Solano | $37,569,944 | $11,555,468 | $1,779,432 | $3,864,499 | $894,304 | $55,663,647 |
| San Jose | $41,380,056 | $12,696,941 | $1,779,432 | $5,872,375 | $1,170,633 | $62,899,437 |
| San Francisco | $42,326,698 | $12,983,774 | $1,779,432 | $6,756,555 | $1,254,287 | $65,100,746 |
| Source: Applied Economics, October 2016 | ||||||
Food & Beverage Assets, Resources and Industry Groups
These assets are most directly related to Advanced Manufacturing. The broader directory in Resources, highlights resources the benefit a broader spectrum of businesses, including food and beverage producers.
Organizations
More details in Business & Industry Groups.
Bay Area Center for International Trade Development
Bay Area CITD assists businesses in expanding globally and manages the one of the largest state-based export promotion efforts in the United States. Learn more here.
California International Business Association
International business directory for international trade opportunities with California. Learn more here.
California League of Food Processors
IMembership directory, legislative advocacy. Learn more here.
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
Industry advocacy and information, including research and job boards; Membership-based. Learn more here.
Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz)
Assists small to medium size companies in developing markets abroad for their products and services. California’s Business Portal provides access to information on international trade and investment. GO-Biz also conducts several trade missions each year in support of California Business. Learn more here.
Solano County Farm Bureau
Advocacy and updates on agricultural issues, networking, and special events. Learn more here.
Solano Grown
Marketing partnership of Solano County farmers and ranchers. Solano County Farmbudsman program (liason between farmers/ranchers and government). Learn more here.
Education and Research
More details in Higher Education.
UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources
Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology emphasizes the molecular mechanisms of dietary nutrients, phytochemicals, and toxicants, training future nutrition and health professionals. Learn more here.
UC Davis Food Science
Specialized food research takes many shapes at UC Davis:
- Food science department has 3 processing facilities for tomatoes, brewing, and milk. Learn more here.
- UC Davis Olive Oil Center Sensory and Chemistry Laboratory. Learn more here.
- UC Davis wine facilities. Learn more here.
- Applied Sensory and Consumer Science certificate through UC Davis Extension. Learn more here.
- Research partnerships with industry. Learn more here.
- Learn more here about UC Davis Food Science.
Tax Credits, Financing & Incentives
More details in Incentives.
Manufacturing and Research & Development Equipment Exemption
Manufacturers and qualifying research and development firms may qualify for partial exemption of sales and use tax on purchases and leases of manufacturing and R & D equipment. Learn more here.
Research & Development Tax Credit
Business activities undertaken to discover technological information, and relying on "hard sciences" such as physics, chemistry, and biology may be eligible for significant tax credits. Learn more here.
Workforce for Food & Beverage Industry
| Selected Wage Comparison by Occupation | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OCCUPATIONS | Solano Co | Alameda Co | Napa Co | Sacramento Co | San Francisco Co | ||||||
| Wages by Percentile | 25% | 75% | 25% | 75% | 25% | 75% | 25% | 75% | 25% | 75% | |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations | |||||||||||
| Food Scientists and Technologists | $21.49 | $48.29 | $24.67 | $47.19 | $28.13 | $26.97 | $22.24 | $36.84 | $31.69 | $57.47 | |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations | |||||||||||
| First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers | $24.06 | $32.25 | $16.81 | $22.96 | $19.56 | $37.48 | $14.20 | $32.51 | $17.21 | $54.20 | |
| Agricultural Equipment Operators | $13.53 | $21.17 | n/a | n/a | $13.17 | $15.36 | $10.06 | $11.96 | n/a | n/a | |
| Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse | $9.40 | $10.89 | $9.55 | $15.74 | $10.67 | $14.21 | $9.44 | $11.17 | $11.42 | $14.72 | |
| Production Occupations | |||||||||||
| First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers | $24.14 | $36.32 | $21.72 | $43.23 | $26.06 | $42.98 | $20.64 | $36.23 | $23.72 | $48.19 | |
| Transportation and Material Moving Occupations | |||||||||||
| First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, and Material Movers | $15.66 | $28.95 | $20.09 | $37.41 | $18.18 | $19.69 | $10.99 | $21.53 | $12.77 | $24.44 | |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | $10.30 | $16.47 | $11.16 | $19.45 | $10.74 | $16.63 | $10.10 | $17.40 | $11.84 | $17.36 | |
| Office and Administrative Support Occupations | |||||||||||
| Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks | $17.25 | $31.23 | $21.34 | $31.75 | $20.25 | $29.54 | $18.53 | $28.53 | $23.12 | $35.54 | |
| Shipping, Receiving, and Traffic Clerks | $13.32 | $24.84 | $13.78 | $21.35 | $16.38 | $22.97 | $11.82 | $18.88 | $15.37 | $23.11 | |
| Source: State of California Employment Development Department, Labor Market Information Division (www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/) Employment and Wages Occupations, 1st Quarter 2016 data, July 2016. ¹Standard Occupational Code |
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