Leading Food & Beverage Companies in the Milwaukee Region
Key Industries
Food + Beverage
Blending Wisconsin’s agriculture + manufacturing strengths to feed the world
Southeastern Wisconsin’s diverse mix of food and beverage producers benefit from the region’s central location, abundant water supply, high-quality workforce and statewide agricultural resources. More than 250 food and beverage manufacturing companies in the region employ nearly 15,000 people. This list includes food ingredient and seasoning makers, packagers, equipment manufacturers and distributors.
Wisconsin is home to more than 1,600 food and beverage manufacturing firms that have combined gross annual revenues of $10 billion. Nationally, Wisconsin ranks among the top 10 agriculture states in the U.S. and the state’s concentration of food and beverage manufacturing talent ranks Wisconsin fourth in the nation.
Wisconsin Food & Agricultural Rankings
#1
Cheese, Beans, Cranberries
#1
Organic Dairy, Organic Beef, Organic Hogs
#2
Meat Processing, Butter
# 3
Potatoes, Sweet Corn, Peas
Milwaukee’s long legacy as the “Brew City”
Milwaukee has a long heritage in the brewing industry, touted as “the beer capital of the world” for well over 150 years. Molson Coors’ Milwaukee brewery has been a part of the city’s landscape since 1855, when it was founded as Miller Brewing. Today the brewery produces up to 10 million barrels of beer a year.
Molson Coors currently employs more than 500 workers in Milwaukee and a total of 1,200 in Wisconsin. In the more recent past, the region has welcomed dozens of successful microbreweries, including Black Husky, a company M7 helped bring to Milwaukee. Other large regional brewers include Sprecher Brewing Co. and Lakefront Brewery
FaB Wisconsin – The state food and beverage cluster
Milwaukee 7 houses FaB Wisconsin, the state’s food and beverage industry cluster. FaB's mission is to make Wisconsin a networked place to grow a food and beverage business and industry career.
With nearly 150 member companies, FaB Wisconsin members benefit from a focus on industry leadership and outreach, talent attraction and retention, food safety, business growth, supply chain maximization, and industry marketing. Wisconsin’s industry knowhow, garnered across the state over the past 200 years, is reflected in FaB’s member companies and in the thousands of individuals who bring the world Wisconsin’s food and drink. Their secret sauce is the workforce with a passion and purpose to feed and quench the world.
We're here.
Ready to help.
Expansion or relocation is always a challenge. The Milwaukee 7 Partnership is your local advocate, simplifying and streamlining the investment process.
Interested in learning more?