State economic development approves funds for Venture Central to create accelerator to boost packaged foods industry

A statewide body that provides funding for economic development projects in the Commonwealth has agreed to provide $262,192 to the group Venture Central to help some area businesses reach more customers.

“They are proposing to establish a food and beverage production accelerator to support the growth and scale-up of established food and beverage manufacturers, most specifically noting that most regional manufacturers generate less than a million dollars in annual revenue,” said Sara Dunnigan, Deputy Director of Economic Development and Community Vitaly in the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

The Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board approved the grant at their meeting on June 9. This is the second project that Venture Central has been successful in securing state funding to build the industry.

For a year beginning in February 2025, Venture Central reviewed over 80 small-scale producers across an area called GO Region 9 to analyze the current state of the consumer packaged goods industry.

“Food and beverage manufacturing employs 2,629 workers in Region 9 but has the lowest average wages ($37,294) among target traded-sector industries – 40 percent below the regional average of $61,962,” reads a portion of the executive summary of a report for a grant paid for by the Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board.

The initial study found that the vast majority of companies have revenues of less than a million a year with only eight percent breaking that milestone. Gaps identified a lack of advisors specific to the industry and “no structured peer learning network for food and beverage CPG businesses.”

The website Investopedia defines CPG as “products used daily by consumers that must be replaced frequently.”

Venture Central submitted an application of funding for a second grant to create the Venture Central Food and Beverage Accelerator.

“The project builds upon a previously funded GO Virginia planning grant that identified a regional economic development gap in the F&B sector, noting that most regional manufacturers generate less than $1 million in annual revenue, thereby limiting opportunities for higher-wage job creation and growth in the traded sector,” reads a section of the packet for today’s meeting.

Venture Central put up $120,000 in matching funds to support the industry in Albemarle County, Charlottesville, Madison County, Fauquier County, Nelson County, and Orange County.

The idea stems from multiple planning documents, one of which is the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy adopted by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission in May 2024. Goal One is to “expand economic in opportunities in the Food and Beverage industry.”

If funded, participants will apply to a program intended to help them increase their sales volume. They’ll receive coaching and be introduced to connections across the industry.

The grant will cover the cost of providing two cohorts with “curriculum covering financial management, production scaling, distribution strategy, marketing, regulatory compliance, and leadership development.”

Monthly workshops would be held and individual businesses would get one on one coaching. Participating localities have kicked in $120,000 for the two-year effort.

The report for the first grant doesn’t list the names of the companies but members of the advisory board for the first grant represent groups that are serving as incubators for companies.

That includes Yolunda Harrell of the New Hill Development Corporation. That group secured funding to create the BEACON Kitchen on Carlton Avenue in Charlottesville, but the list of participating entrepreneurs includes some that would fit the description.

“This application came with a number of letters of support from businesses in the sector indicating that the services that the Food and Beverage Accelerator would offer would be of great value and help them grow their businesses in Region 9,” Dunnigan said.

Other members of the advisory board include Gretchen Ledmor of the Carver Food Enterprise Center in Culpeper and Erin Mann of Vint Hill Kitchen.

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