Recipe for Success

Arkansas knows the food and agribusiness industry. We're home to Tyson Foods, one of the world’s largest food companies, and manufacturing facilities for some of the top companies in the industry, including PepsiCo, Nestle, JBS USA, Kraft Heinz, and many others. We're also an agricultural leader, producing 49 percent of all the rice in the United States. The Arkansas Economic Development Commission works diligently to assist food and beverage companies looking to expand or relocate.

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Why Arkansas?

This high-energy video showcases multiple business leaders talking about why being in Arkansas is good for business, not only for their organization but also for their employees.

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Download the Food & Beverage Executive Overview

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Food & Beverage Companies in Arkansas

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Case Study

You're in good company

AEDC's mission is to create economic opportunity by attracting higher paying jobs, expanding and diversifying our state and local economies, increasing incomes and investment, and generating positive growth throughout Arkansas. Here are some examples of businesses that are thriving!

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Agriculture Rankings

#1 in rice production
#2 in broilers
#4 in catfish (food size)
#4 in cotton and cottonseed
#5 in turkeys
#10 in chicken eggs
#11 in grain sorghum
#11 in soybeans

Industry by the Numbers

At the end of 2019, there were 360 food and agribusiness companies in Arkansas, employing 55,500 people
Between January 2015 and August 2020, there have been 79 economic development projects in the food and agribusiness manufacturing industry, with 4,270 new jobs and $2.01 billion of proposed investments
The growth rate of the food and agribusiness industry from 2015 to 2019 was 13.1 percent in Arkansas

Workforce

23 of the top 25 food and agribusiness companies by revenue in the world have manufacturing facilities in the state
Arkansas has the 2nd largest number of food processing workers in the South
360 companies employ over 50,500 Arkansans in the food and agribusiness industry at the end of 2019
The state offers a wide range of education and training programs for food and agribusiness industry professional