GEORGIA’S Food Processing

Industry

INDUSTRY PRESENCE

More than 100 food processing companies have opened or expanded operations in Georgia in the past eight years, and have invested more than $1.4 billion in the state. Companies are taking advantage of the top-ranked, cost-free Georgia Quick Start workforce training program, booming population, expanding agricultural sector, and world-class agribusiness research. Georgia also provides companies a close proximity to raw materials, robust water infrastructure and high-growth consumer markets.

In the past 20 years, the growth in Georgia’s food processing industry has outpaced the national rate, both in employment and value of shipments. Food processing is Georgia’s leading manufacturing industry, employing 61,000 Georgia residents, and contributing $9.3 billion to the gross state product (GSP).

Georgia is home to leading companies that specialize in meat products, beverages, fruits, vegetables and bakery products. Georgia is also home to the international headquarters of the Coca-Cola Company, Coca-Cola Enterprises®, and Flowers Foods. Coca-Cola® is the most recognizable brand in the world. The company established its roots in Georgia in 1886 and is still Georgia’s top employer in the food processing industry. Thirty-eight of the country’s top 100 food processing companies have operations in Georgia.

GEORGIA FOOD PROCESSING QUICK FACTS

is the most recognizable brand in the world. The

company established its roots in Georgia in 1886, and is still

Georgia’s top employer in the food processing industry.

State“Food-At-Home” Total Spending

Market Share

Market Share

Rankings

Average Spent

Annually

Average SpentAnnually Rankings

Spending Potential Index

(State vs. National Average)

Georgia $16,942,875,634 19% 2 $4,627 1 103

Alabama $6,600,246,635 7% 6 $3,504 6 78

Florida $31,174,386,196 34% 1 $4,185 2 94

Mississippi $3,597,344,806 4% 7 $3,195 7 71

North Carolina $15,666,463,360 17% 3 $4,165 3 93

South Carolina $7,068,883,865 8% 5 $3,915 5 88

Tennessee $10,156,001,446 11% 4 $4,007 4 90

SOUTHEASTERN U.S. CONSUMER SPENDING COMPARISON FOR “FOOD-AT-HOME” PURCHASESNote: Consumer Spending data derived from the 2005 and 2006 Consumer Expenditure Surveys, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Source: State Market Profile, ESRI, 2010.

Georgia’s total spending is 37 percent higher than the average Southeastern state’s spending.

2

“Top States for Business”CNBC, 2011

1. Virginia

2. Texas

3. North Carolina

4. GEORGIA

5. Colorado

6. Massachusetts

7. Minnesota

8. Utah

9. Iowa

10. Nebraska

CNBC’s rankings measure states on cost of business, workforce, quality of life, economy, infrastructure and transportation, technology & innovation, education, business friendliness, access to capital and cost of living.

Source: CNBC, 6.28.2011

Georgia’s Top 10 Food Processing Employers

Company Workers

Coca-Cola Company/CCE 9,333*

Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. 8,222

Fieldale Farms Corp. 4,435

Tyson Foods Inc. 3,265

Equity Group-Georgia Division 2,700

Perdue Farms Inc. 2,000

Kellogg 1,630

Sanderson Farms 1,550

Frito-Lay Inc. 1,400

Wayne Farms LLC 1,400

*Includes Coca-Cola Company, Coca-Cola Refreshments and Coca-Cola Enterprises (CC)

Source: Georgia Power Community & Economic Development Food Processing Database

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT georgia.org/food

GEORGIA GROWS

Following the state’s agricultural roots, Georgia leads the country in the production of broiler chickens, peanuts and pecans. Georgia also is the exclusive producer of Vidalia onions, and has significant production of blueberries, eggs, wine and melons.

• In 2010, Georgia exported approximately $2 billion worth of food products.

• Georgia produces almost half the nation’s peanuts worth $381.9 million.

• Pecans contribute $2 billion to the Georgia economy.

• Georgia averages 5.5 million hatching eggs yearly.

• Georgia wineries have the potential to produce up to 18,000 cases of wine annually.

GEORGIA’S TOP AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES IN 2009*

Other Commodities, 29.1%

Cotton, 6.3%

Eggs, 5.1%

Timber, 3.6%

Peanuts, 3.6%

Horses, 3.5%

Beef, 3.2%

Greenhouse, 2.3%

Dairy, 2.2%

Container Nursery, 1.9%

Broilers, 39.3%

GEORGIA’S U.S. RANK BY COMMODITY*

U.S. Ranking Commodity

1 Broiler Chickens

1 Peanuts

1 Pecans

2 Cucumbers, Fresh Market

2 Onion, Spring

2 Rye

2 Snap Beans, Fresh Market

3 Bell Peppers

3 Cantaloupes

3 Sweet Corn, Fresh Market

3 Watermelons

4 Blueberries

4 Peaches

4 Squash

5 Cabbage, Fresh Market

*Source: USDA, 2009; Georgia Power

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FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT georgia.org/food

Atlantic Ocean

Tallahassee

Jacksonville

Dothan

Chattanooga

Greenville

Columbia

Charlotte

75Ellijay

Eastanollee

LavoniaHartwell

Elberton

Dawsonville

Bremen

Shady Dale

Forsyth

Buena Vista

Claxton

Donalsonville

Colquitt Camilla

DawsonCuthbert

FitzgeraldSylvester Alma

Maysville

Greensboro

Pine Mountain Valley

129

Florida

South Carolina

Alabama

North CarolinaTennessee

441

80

301

1

23

31982

129

19

25

280

27

341

76

78

27

41

278

29

27

19

78

84

23

441

76

29

76441

1B

441

301

41

221

278

341

Rome

Jesup

Macon

Cairo

MonroeTucker

Canton

Dublin

Tifton

Albany

Newnan

Calhoun

Vidalia

Conyers

Griffin

Cordele

Blakely

Atlanta

Marietta

Riceboro

Waycross

Eatonton

Americus

Moultrie

Columbus

Jefferson

Brunswick

Kingsland

LaGrange

Snellville

Hinesville

Carrollton

Thomasville

Cartersville

Douglasville

Sandersville

Fayetteville

Lawrenceville

Milledgeville

Social Circle

Peachtree City

Athens

Dalton

Douglas

Augusta

Madison

Savannah

Valdosta

Alpharetta

Statesboro

Bainbridge

Gainesville

Forest Park

Saint Simons

95

16

75

59

85

20

85

985

575

285

59

16

185

Courtesy of Georgia Electric Membership Corporation

LegendFood Processors

Commerical Airports

Ports

US Hwy

Interstates

0 25 50

Miles

GEORGIA’S MAJOR FOOD COMPANY LOCATIONSMORE THAN 50 EMPLOYEES

3111 AAnimal Food Manufacturing

American Proteins Inc Cumming 120Columbia Farms of Georgia, Inc. Lavonia 100Flint River Mills Co. Bainbridge 105Gimborn Pet Specialties Atlanta 50Hi-Tek Rations, Inc. Dublin 120Nestle Purina Petcare Co. Fairburn 200Pennington Seed Madison 100Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. Gainesville 1600Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. Ball Ground 70 3112 AGrain & Oilseed Manufacturing

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Valdosta 160California Cereal Products Inc. Macon 125Cargill Inc. Gainesville 150Custom Food Coatings Rome 58Fuji Vegetable Oil Inc. Savannah 50General Mills, Inc. Covington 75Georgia Feed Products LLC Cuthbert 125Mid Georgia Processing Co. LLC Vienna 56Pillsbury Co. LLC Lithonia 100Southeastern Mills Inc. Rome 230 3113 ASugar & Confectionery Product Manufacturing

Ash Shipping, Inc./Savannah’s Candy Kitchen Savannah 200Crown Candy Corp. Macon 60Hershey Co. Kennesaw 50Imperial Sugar-Savannah, LP Savannah 125Mars Chocolate NA, LLC Albany 500Wrigley Manufacturing Co. Flowery Branch 725

3114 AFruit & Vegetable Preserving & Specialty Food Mfg.

A G Buckhead Inc Atlanta 50A.M. Braswell, Jr. Food Co. Statesboro 95Agora Foods Dawsonville 80Birds Eye Foods, Inc./Allens Inc. Montezuma 290KD Acquisition I, LLC Gainesville 837La Quesera Mexicana, LLC Norcross 60Sunny Delight Beverages Co. Atlanta 110Thermo Pac/Portion Pac Stone Mountain 200Wendell Roberson Farms Tifton 129 3115 ADairy Food Manufacturing

Centennial Farms Dairy Atlanta 122Dessert Innovations Atlanta 52Kraft Foods Global, Inc. Suwanee 150Land-O-Sun Dairies LLC Atlanta 59Mayfield Dairy Farms Marietta 200Mayfield Dairy Farms Braselton 120Mayfield Dairy Farms, LLC Carrollton 54Schreiber Foods, Inc. Gainesville 200Southern Ice Cream Specialties Marietta 150 3116 AAnimal Slaughtering & Processing

Arko Veal Co., Inc. Forest Park 50BCK, LLC Athens 100Birchwood Meats & Provisions Norcross 140Buckhead Beef Co. Atlanta 75Cagle’s Inc Atlanta 106Cagle’s Inc. Pine Mtn. Valley 1100Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. Newnan 350Claxton Poultry Farms Claxton 1200Crider Inc. Stillmore 810D. L. Lee & Sons, Inc. Alma 250Equity Group-Georgia Division Camilla 2900Farmland Foods/North Side Foods Cumming 93Fieldale Farms Corp. Eastanollee 50Fieldale Farms Corp. Murrayville 1500Fieldale Farms Corp. Cornelia 1400Fieldale Farms Corp. Gainesville 800Fieldale Farms Corp. Baldwin 75Flanders Provision Co. Waycross 130FOC Acquisition LLC/Filet of Chicken Forest Park 140FPL Food LLC Augusta 500Fries Farms, LLC Glennville 250Fries Farms, LLC Glennville 150Gold Creek Foods, LLC Dawsonville 800Golden State Foods Corp. Conyers 350Griffin Industries, Inc. Ellenwood 100Griffin Industries, Inc. Dublin 60Harrison Poultry Inc. Bethlehem 900Hormel Foods Tucker 358Kenosha Beef International, Ltd. Norcross 100Kings Delight Ltd. Gainesville 250Koch Foods of Cumming Inc. Cumming 800Koch Foods of Gainesville/Gress Foods LLC Gainesville 670Koch Meat Co., Inc. Gainesville 400Lowell Packing Co. Fitzgerald 100Mar-Jac Poultry Gainesville 1200National Beef Packing Co. LLC Moultrie 450Perdue Farms/Fpp Family Investments Perry 1973Pilgrim’s Pride Carrollton 800Pilgrim’s Pride Talmo 250Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. Douglas 900Pilgrims Pride Corp. Duluth 135Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. Gainesville 1900Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. Ellijay 1000Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. Canton 765Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. Elberton 600

3116 Animal Slaughtering & Processing (continued)

Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. Atlanta 150Pine Crest Poultry Greensboro 250Prime-Pak Foods, Inc. Gainesville 157Quail International Greensboro 90Remicks Poultry Forsyth 250Robbins Packing Co. Statesboro 125Roger Wood Foods, Inc. Savannah 250Sanderson Farms Inc. Moultrie 1500Sanderson Farms Inc. Adel 250Signature Custom Packing LLC Pendergrass 72Snow Ball Foods, LLC Gainesville 250Sunset Farm Foods Inc. Valdosta 54Tip Top Poultry Inc. Marietta 1400Tip Top Poultry Inc. Rockmart 600Tyson Foods Inc. Cumming 1200Tyson Foods Inc. Vienna 900Tyson Foods Inc. Oglethorpe 200Tyson Foods Inc. Buena Vista 1380Tyson Foods Inc. Dawson 500Tyson Foods Inc. Buena Vista 400Tyson Foods Inc. Oglethorpe 50US Foodservice Fairburn 700Valley Fresh Inc. Talmo 100Victory Foods Gainesville 200Wayne Farms LLC Pendergrass 1100Wayne Farms LLC Oakwood 250Wayne Farms LLC Maysville 75Zartic LLC Rome 500 3117 ASeafood Product Preparation & Packaging

Chicken of the Sea Lyons 200King & Prince Seafood Corp. Brunswick 500Rich Products Consumer Brands Brunswick 301Rich Products Consumer Brands St Simons Island 100Rich-SeaPak Corp. Waycross 100Sea Harvest Packing Co. Brunswick 85 3118 ABakeries & Tortilla Manufacturing

Bailey Street Baking Inc Atlanta 225Bake One, Inc. Smyrna 80Benson’s, Inc. Bogart 120C H Bakers Inc Atlanta 200Claxton Bakery, Inc. Claxton 120Country Home Bakers Inc. Atlanta 150CSM Bakery Products/H. C. Brill Co. Inc. Tucker 321Derst Baking Co. LLC Savannah 300Earthgrains Baking Cos., Inc. Decatur 525Edwards Fine Foods Inc. Norcross 400Engelman’s Bakery Norcross 95EPI Breads Atlanta 150Flowers Bakery of Suwanee LLC Suwanee 200Flowers Baking Co. of Tucker LLC Tucker 215Flowers Baking Co. of Villa Rica Villa Rica 250Flowers Foods Inc. Thomasville 151Fresh Beginnings Valdosta 300Home-Grown Industries of Georgia Atlanta 55Interstate Bakeries/Dolly Madison Columbus 100Kellogg Co. College Park 60Kellogg Co. Rome 800Kellogg Co. Columbus 675Kellogg Co./Murray Biscuit Co. Augusta 800Kellogg Co./Murray Biscuit Co. Alpharetta 60Kellogg’s Snacks Morrow 80Kraft Foods Global, Inc. Atlanta 700La Chiquita Tortilla Mfg Atlanta 90La Espiga de Oro Atlanta 75Latino Enterprises, Inc. Atlanta 90Lavoi Corp. Atlanta 255Maplehurst Bakeries, LLC Carrollton 200Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe Valdosta 177Masada Bakery Inc. Norcross 60Mom’s Bakery Inc Atlanta 125Olé Mexican Foods, Inc. Norcross 325Panarama Inc. Kennesaw 100Panera Bread Fresh Dough Facility Norcross 62Richmond Baking of Georgia, Inc. Alma 85Sara Lee Bakery Group, Inc. Rome 425Sara Lee Bakery Group, Inc. Forest Park 250Sara Lee Corp. Decatur 300Schwan’s Bakery Inc/Edwards Fine Foods Atlanta 432Sisters Gourmet Inc. Winder 70Snyder’s-Lance Inc./Vista Bakery, Inc. Columbus 500Suzanna’s Kitchen Duluth 150Tortilleria El Maizal, Inc. Kennesaw 150Turano Georgia Bread LLC Villa Rica 100Vie De France Yamazaki Atlanta 80 3119 AOther Food Manufacturing

American Blanching Co. Fitzgerald 150American Egg Products, Inc. Blackshear 65American Fresh Foods (AFA Foods) Thomasville 100American Peanut Growers Group Donalsonville 60Arylessence Inc Marietta 80Bella Cucina Artful Food, Inc. Atlanta 50Birdsong Peanuts Blakely 155Birdsong Peanuts Colquitt 85Birdsong Peanuts Sylvester 50Brown Bag Inc. Columbus 60Byrd Cookie Co. Savannah 50Cal-Maine Foods Inc. Shady Dale 80

3119 AOther Food Manufacturing (continued)

Canteen Vending Svc Augusta 90Cargill Texturizing Solutions Atlanta 70ConAgra Foods, Inc. Sylvester 130Country Boy Meat Stix Hartwell 50DD Food Solutions, Inc. Tucker 150Diamond Crystal Brands Inc. Savannah 300Diaz Wholesale & Mfg. Co. Inc. Atlanta 175Fresh Express Morrow 1200Frito-Lay, Inc. Kathleen 1300Georgia Sandwich Co., Inc. Marietta 50Golden Peanut Co. LLC Ashburn 120Golden Peanut Co. LLC Alpharetta 51Golden Peanut Co., LLC Dawson 100Golden Peanut Co., LLC Camilla 50Griffith Laboratories Inc Lithonia 135Gruma Corp./Mission Foods Pendergrass 400Harrell Nut/Camilla Pecan Co. Camilla 150John B. Sanfilippo & Son Inc. Bainbridge 90Kabobs Inc. Morrow 265Ken’s Foods Inc. Mcdonough 300Kerry North America Calhoun 69Kraft Foods Global, Inc. Atlanta 65Kraft Foods Global, Inc./Distribution Norcross 300Lenmar Inc. Norcross 100Los Amigos Tortilla Mfg. Co. Atlanta 60Mark-Lynn Foods/Diamond Crystal Brands Bremen 140McCormick & Co. Inc. Atlanta 100Naturally Fresh, Inc. Atlanta 270Pippin Snack Pecans Albany 50QT Kitchens Ellenwood 227Quaker Oats Co. Atlanta 450Quik’n Tasty Foods Inc. Pendergrass 63Ready Pac Inc. Jackson 400Rudolph Foods Co., Inc. Lawrenceville 70Schermer Pecan Co. Glennville 200Signature Foods Inc. Pendergrass 100Southern Tea Co. LLC Marietta 170St Partners, LLC Gainesville 90Sunnyland Farms Albany 75T Marzetti Co. Atlanta 120Tara Foods Albany 120Tracy-Luckey Co. Inc. Harlem 74Trinidad/Benham Corp. Lagrange 100Unilever Best Foods Roswell 200United Egg Marketing Corp. Blackshear 93Universal Blanchers LLC Sylvester 150Universal Blanchers LLC Blakely 70US Foodservice Norcross 300Valentine Enterprises, Inc. Lawrenceville 200Vita Specialty Foods, Inc. Atlanta 63 3121 ABeverage Manufacturing

All Natural Deep Spg Bottled Sharpsburg 77Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Cartersville 500Buffalo Rock Co. Columbus 160Buffalo Rock Co. Newnan 130Buffalo Rock Co. Albany 100Canada Dry Bottling Co. Atlanta 100Canadaigua Wine Co. Atlanta 77CCDA Waters, LLC Atlanta 420Coca-Cola Atlanta 400Coca-Cola Augusta 250Coca-Cola Atlanta 85Coca-Cola Valdosta 53Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Austell 211Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Atlanta 400Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Atlanta 290Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Gainesville 118Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Villa Rica 77Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Rome 115Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Marietta 77Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Savannah 350Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated Columbus 112Coca-Cola Co. Atlanta 77Coca-Cola Co. Atlanta 8000Coca-Cola Co. Atlanta 200Coca-Cola Co. Atlanta 150Coca-Cola Enterprises Atlanta 700Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. Lawrenceville 200Coca-Cola Enterprises/Call Center Atlanta 290Coca-Cola Refreshments USA Inc. Macon 169Coca-Cola Refreshments USA Inc. Marietta 120Coca-Cola Refreshments USA, Inc. Athens 75Cott Beverages Inc. Columbus 80Deep South Productions Inc. Fitzgerald 500DS Waters of America, Inc. Mableton 180DS Waters of America, Inc. Atlanta 125DS Waters of America/Call Center Flowery Branch 165Millercoors LLC Albany 600Pepsi Beverages Co. Atlanta 400Pepsi Bottling Group Valdosta 80Pepsi Bottling Group Martinez 72PepsiCo Stone Mountain 97Pepsi-Cola Metropolitan Bottling Co. Dublin 400Pepsi-Cola Metropolitan Bottling Co. Roswell 115Pepsi-Cola Metropolitan Bottling Co. Macon 80Pepsi-Cola Metropolitan Bottling Co. Savannah 60Pepsi-Cola Metropolitan Bottling Co. Bogart 60Pepsi-Cola Metropolitan Bottling Co. Gainesville 58Shasta Beverages Inc. Gainesville 108Southeast Canners Inc. Columbus 55Southern Beverage Packers Inc. Appling 75Southern Eagle Distributing, LLC Fitzgerald 150

GEORGIA’S LOGISTICS INFRASTRUCTURE

• Georgia is ranked third in the United States for transportation and infrastructure, based on value of goods shipped by land, air, and water, along with the quality of state roads.

• Georgia is within a two-day drive of 80 percent of the United States’ consumer markets.

• Georgia’s distribution centers are recognized as some of the largest in the Southeast.

• Atlanta is known as the second-most connected market internationally.

WAREHOUSING AND DISTRIBUTIONFour of the top 10 warehouse providers in North America are headquartered in Georgia, and 90 percent of the top 25 global third-party logistics providers (3PL’s) have operations in Georgia. More than 48 retailers have warehouse locations in Georgia, with more than a dozen facilities, each exceeding one million square feet. Within a two-and-a-half-hour radius of the Port of Savannah, area distribution centers represent more than 14 million square feet of warehousing and generate in excess of 500,000 TEUs annually.

GROUND TRANSPORTATIONTwo of the most important north-south transcontinental interstate highways pass through Georgia, and four other interstate highways connect Georgia to 15 other states. A combined 5.9 million tons of freight move across Georgia’s 1,200 miles of interstate highways and 20,000 miles of federal and state highways each week. With 4,700 miles of rail, Georgia has the most extensive rail system and largest intermodal hub in the Southeast. Georgia is served by two Class-1 railroads and 24 short-line companies.

GEORGIA’S SEAPORTSThe seaports in Georgia include the Georgia Ports Authority’s Port of Savannah and the Port of Brunswick.Savannah’s Garden City Terminal is the largest single-terminal operator in North America, and also holds the title of fastest-growing and fourth-largest in total volumes, including second largest on the east coast of the United States. It serves more than 40 lines of steamships, has convenient intermodal connections, state-of-the-art cargo handling equipment, and value-added services. The Port of Savannah is also responsible for moving 20 percent of the East Coast’s overseas container cargo, and is one of the few ports in the United States with two Class-1 railroad facilities on terminal. The Port of Brunswick is the second-largest grain facility on the East Coast. gaports.com

AIR TRANSPORTATIONGeorgia’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world’s busiest passenger airport and is the 11th-largest air cargo hub. The airport hosts 12 cargo-only carriers and has more than 1.5 million square feet of cargo handling space. It also serves six continents and allows business travelers to reach 80 percent of the U.S. market within two hours and any major North American city within four hours. Through Georgia’s network of 144 public and private airports, companies can easily access locations statewide. atlanta-airport.com

Georgia has more than 50 available sites around

the state, each of 50-plus acres and a one million

gallon daily water and wastewater capacity.

Atlanta

Seattle

San FranciscoDenver

Minneapolis

Tampa

Boston

St. Louis

Dallas

New York

Washington DCCincinnati

Chicago

1-2 DAYS

3-4 DAYS

5-7 DAYS

RAIL TRANSIT TIMES FROM GEORGIA

Atlanta

Seattle

San FranciscoDenver

Minneapolis

Tampa

Boston

St. Louis

Dallas

New York

Washington DCCincinnati

Chicago

TRUCK TRANSIT TIMES FROM GEORGIA

8

INDUSTRY RESEARCHTwo of Georgia’s leading universities, the University of Georgia and The Georgia Institute of Technology, have research facilities and innovation teams that provide exceptional resources for food processing and machinery companies.

• The University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has several programs

educating students in the field of food processing:

• The Center for Food Safety works closely with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) and leads the industry in developing techniques to detect, control, and

eliminate disease causing micro-organisms and toxins www.ugacfs.org

• The Food Product Innovation and Commercialization Center, located in Griffin, assists companies

in the efficient and economical development of new products, processes, packaging and

production trials. www.caes.uga.edu/center/foodpic

• The Georgia Institute of Technology’s Research Institute is the largest unit of the university providing

world class applied and basic research and expertise in solving industry problems.

• The Food Processing Technology Division (FPTD) develops innovative technologies for processing efficiency and operational enhancement. FPTD partners with industry professionals on projects involving advanced robotics and automation, imaging and sensing, environmental, energy, and worker and food safety technologies. www.foodtech.gatech.edu

State“Food Away From Home”

Total Spending

Market Share

Market Share

Rankings

Average Spent

Annually

Average SpentAnnually Rankings

Spending Potential Index

(State vs. National Average)

Georgia $12,269,448,065 19% 2 $3,351 1 104

Alabama $4,644,891,219 7% 6 $2,466 6 77

Florida $22,272,087,538 34% 1 $2,990 2 93

Mississippi $2,508,349,355 4% 7 $2,228 7 69

North Carolina $11,177,088,055 17% 3 $2,972 3 92

South Carolina $5,004,162,901 8% 5 $2,772 5 86

Tennessee $7,195,356,714 11% 4 $2,839 4 80

SOUTHEASTERN U.S. CONSUMER SPENDING COMPARISON FOR “FOOD AWAY FROM HOME” PURCHASES

Note: Consumer Spending data derived from the 2005 and 2006 Consumer Expenditure Surveys, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Source: State Market Profile, ESRI, 2010.

Georgia’s total spending is 39 percent higher than the average Southeastern state’s spending.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT georgia.org/food

WORKFORCE AND INCENTIVES

Georgia ranks second in the nation for the best workforce, based on education and size. Georgia is a right- to-work state with the second-lowest overall unionization rate in the country at four percent, compared to the national average of 11.9 percent.

Georgia’s Quick Start program has worked with these industry leaders to train their workforce in Georgia:

• Perdue • General Mills • QT Kitchens

• Tyson • Rich-Sea Pak • Wrigley

• Gatorade • Kellogg Snacks • Lance

• Fresh Express • Flowers Foods • Mayfield Dairy Farms

• Fuji Vegetable Oils • Castleberry • King’s Hawaiian

Each program is specifically tailored to a company’s process and requirements, and can include HACCP overview, FDA requirements, ISO 9000, ERP system interface, GMPS, Lean Manufacturing, Train-the-Trainer, and Ingredient Testing.

TAX INCENTIVES

• Georgia has the lowest corporate taxation in the southeastern United States.

• Georgia’s corporate income tax has remained at six percent since 1969.

• Georgia was the first state in the Southeast to adopt a “Single Factor Gross Receipts” apportionment

formula to calculate state, corporate income tax based only on a company’s sales in Georgia, with no

‘throwback’ provision.

• Job tax credits range from $6,250-$20,000 per job over five years, depending on the location of the

operation. In certain communities, these tax credits may also be applied to payroll withholding.

• An additional $1,250 tax credit is offered to companies that claim the job tax credit and increase their

imports/exports through Georgia’s deepwater ports.

• Georgia’s pro-business environment offers tax exemptions on production machinery, inventory, and,

in some instances, material handling equipment.

• Georgia is ranked eighth by the Tax Foundation Rankings of states based on Favorable Corporate

Income Tax.

“Quick Start really delivered for us

a total package of training....”

- Dave Bauereis, Plant Manager, Premium Waters, Douglas, Georgia

For ten years, Quick Start has been

ranked the NUMBER ONE workforce

training program in the nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT georgia.org/food

Georgia Department of Economic Development 75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 1200, Atlanta, Georgia 30308 - USA(+1) 404.962.4127 I business@georgia.org I georgia.org/food

10/2011

THE GEORGIA BUSINESS ADVANTAGE NO COST SERVICES FOR YOUR COMPANYCompanies seeking a competitive edge in an increasingly global marketplacewill find world-class support and resources through the food processingteam of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Representing decades of experience with the food industry, our staff can provide:

• Extensive site selection, evaluation and building services

• Comprehensive location data, including community demographics, supplier industry reports, maps and regional data

• Coordination with community officials regarding project needs, existing utilities and specific site requirements

• Information on business cost environment, taxes and available incentives

• Access to Quick Start workforce training (top ranked nationally)

• Access to advanced academic intellectual talent and research

• Ease of access to international markets

• Coordination of traffic and highway requirements

• Coordination with the Georgia Ports Authority to identify project specific shipping and logistics requirements

• Unique cross-industry connections, cutting-edge technology insight and expertise through our partner resources in Georgia