Slots are competitive — what should I check in California?

The good sites are booked further out than elsewhere. Assume longer lead time to first run and book earlier than feels necessary.

Prop 65 — what should I check in California?

California has labelling requirements that do not apply elsewhere. Confirm who is responsible for compliance in your agreement, in writing.

Freight east is expensive — what should I check in California?

If your customers are on the east coast, model outbound freight before you fall in love with a west coast site.

• Directory · United States

Co-packers in California

The deepest bench in the country, and the most competition for slots.

Why manufacturing concentrates here

California has more contract manufacturers across more categories than anywhere else in the US, concentrated around Los Angeles for cosmetics and personal care, and through the Central Valley for anything agricultural.

The Central Valley matters because of proximity to raw material. If your product contains fruit, nuts, tomatoes or dairy, the ingredient and the filler are frequently within an hour of each other, which takes real cost and real risk out of inbound freight.

It is also where most challenger beverage brands started, so the beverage sites there have seen your business model before and will not need it explained.

What to check before you commit

Slots are competitiveThe good sites are booked further out than elsewhere. Assume longer lead time to first run and book earlier than feels necessary.
Prop 65California has labelling requirements that do not apply elsewhere. Confirm who is responsible for compliance in your agreement, in writing.
Freight east is expensiveIf your customers are on the east coast, model outbound freight before you fall in love with a west coast site.

Site listings for California go live as manufacturers join NextBatch. We publish what sites maintain about themselves rather than a scraped list nobody keeps current.

Other regions in United States

Pacific NorthwestOregon and Washington — small-batch beverage, and the craft heritage that came with it. TexasCentral for freight, cheap for space, and increasingly deep in beverage. New Jersey and NY metroOld, dense manufacturing on top of the biggest consumer market in the country. UtahThe supplement capital of the United States, by a wide margin. MidwestIllinois, Wisconsin and Ohio — scale, dairy, and the biggest food-manufacturing base in the country. SoutheastGeorgia and the Carolinas — beverage at scale, and improving logistics every year. PennsylvaniaSnacks, confectionery and a short drive to a third of the US population. FloridaCitrus at the source, and the natural gateway to Latin America. New York StateDairy and beverage upstate, the biggest single market downstate. ColoradoNatural and better-for-you brands cluster here, and so do the manufacturers.

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