Food Innovation & Manufacturing
Chicago is the nation's food innovation and manufacturing capital. The city's proximity to the most productive farmland and an extensive transportation network helped grow the historic industry. Today, the Chicagoland area is home to America's largest food manufacturing workforce and the industry's largest and most innovative corporations.
Explore the industry profile for Food Innovation and Manufacturing.
The report includes numbers and more on local assets, geographic distribution, productivity, business count, employment and high growth sub- industries.
Continued Growth in Food Manufacturing
Chicago’s high-growth sub-industries include alternative proteins, dairy products, and meat processing. We also continue to nurture innovative food companies, proven by the fact that investments in companies with active patents are at an all-time high.
Chicago's Food Innovation Ecosystem
Dive deeper: learn more about Chicago’s growing food innovation ecosystem in our May 2022 issue of the Chicago Business Bulletin.
