National manufacturing trade publication Industry Today has featured insights from a Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) leader, spotlighting the region’s growing influence as a food and beverage manufacturing hub. 

In a piece headlined “Why Food & Beverage Manufacturers Savor the Lehigh Valley,” Kristin Cahayla-Hoffman, LVEDC Vice President of Business Development & Attraction, analyzes why the Lehigh Valley has become home to global food and beverage brands such as Coca-Cola, Ocean Spray, Boston Beer Co., Nestle Purina, Freshpet, Bimbo Bakeries, Bakerly/Norac, and Just Born Quality Confections, maker of the iconic Peeps marshmallow candies.

“That growth is driven by strategic advantages of location, workforce, and heritage,” she wrote.

Located within a day’s drive of one-third of the U.S. population, the Lehigh Valley provides immediate proximity to major consumer markets along the East Coast and the Midwest. Lehigh Valley has an extensive network of highways and freight rail. Lehigh Valley International Airport is home to Pennsylvania’s second-largest air cargo hub, which is undergoing a major expansion. And the Ports of New York/New Jersey and Philadelphia are nearby.

“Since 2010, manufacturing employment in the Lehigh Valley has surged three times as fast as the U.S., 28.8% compared to 9.6%. The food and beverage industry, in particular, has seen remarkable growth, with employment increasing by 76% over that time,” Cahayla-Hoffman wrote.

The Industry Today article shares news of recent expansions in food and beverage manufacturing, including:

• Kerry Group, an Irish-based food manufacturer, is building a multi-million-dollar facility for coffee roasting and extraction, creating 61 new jobs.
• Bazzini, America’s oldest nut company, expanded by leasing a 150,000-square-foot production facility.
• Ecopax, a leading manufacturer of sustainable food packaging solutions, is expanding its footprint in Bethlehem with the addition of a new 104,238-square-foot facility.
• Kervan USA, a Turkish candy producer, is establishing a $20 million U.S. headquarters and manufacturing facility.

“This location made perfect sense, both proximity to the ports and the workforce,” said Gokhan Kacmaz, Chief Financial Officer of Kervan USA. “We saw a big opportunity. All this made the Lehigh Valley a great location to make this investment.”

Industry Today, which has a monthly digital readership of more than 100,000, is a business publication focused on manufacturing, industrial innovation, and supply chain development. It covers topics such as advanced manufacturing, automation, workforce trends, logistics, sustainability, and technology shaping the industrial sector.