For makers and farms
Co-packers, shared kitchens and food business help in California
76 businesses and programs in California that help small food makers and farms make, store and move product: 23 co-packers, 22 shared kitchens, 12 programs and official lists, and 19 cold storage companies, distributors, processors and suppliers.
- 23Co-packers
- 22Shared kitchens
- 12Programs and lists
- 76Listings in all
Programs and official lists in California
12 listed. Start here. State and university programs that help food businesses with recipes, safety plans and licensing, and the public lists they keep.
- California League of Food Producers Co-Packer List
CA · assets.noviams.com
Trade association list of member co-packers, mostly Central Valley - California Organic Farmer Networks, Food Hubs, Aggregators and Produce Distributorsproduceorganic certified
CA · foe.org
Statewide list of food hubs and produce distributors by region - UC ANR Niche Meat Marketing: Beef Processing Facilitiesmeat
CA · ucanr.edu
Lists USDA and state inspected harvest and cut-and-wrap plants - UC Davis Food Quality: Co-Packer Information and List
CA · ucfoodquality.ucdavis.edu
Partial list of California co-packers with website links - UC Food Safety: Starting a Food Business
CA · ucfoodsafety.ucdavis.edu
Links to co-packer lists, incubator kitchens and entrepreneur programs - UC Davis California Processing Tomato Industry Pilot Plant
Davis, CA · foodscience.ucdavis.edu · source
University food science pilot plant for processing trials - UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health
Davis, CA · foodandhealth.ucdavis.edu
Connects food companies and startups with UC Davis research - Fresno State Institute for Food and Agriculture
Fresno, CA · jcast.fresnostate.edu
University institute for applied food and agriculture research - Mandela Partnersproduce
Oakland, CA · mandelapartners.org
Nonprofit incubating community food businesses and sourcing from local farms - Kitchens for Good
San Diego, CA · kitchensforgood.org
Culinary nonprofit with a microenterprise program for food startups - Cal Poly Food Pilot Plant
San Luis Obispo, CA · cafes.calpoly.edu
University pilot plant for food product development and processing - AgStart (The Lab@AgStart)
Woodland, CA · agstart.org · source
Nonprofit food and ag incubator with shared lab space
Co-packers in California
23 listed. Contract manufacturers that make and pack your recipe in a licensed plant. Co-packers in California has its own page.
- Heiden's Foodspickles fermentsorganic certified
Anaheim, CA · heidensfoods.com · source
Pickles and relishes; hot and cold pack; co-packing - Mad Will's Food Companysauceshot saucejams preserves
Auburn, CA · madwills.com · source
Shelf-stable sauces and condiments; co-packing and private label - Golden West Specialty Foodssaucesdry mixes spices
Brisbane, CA · gwsfoods.com · source
Shelf-stable sauces, seasonings and mustards; listed as private label packer - California Spice Basketdry mixes spices
Burlingame, CA · caspicebasket.com · source
Custom spice blends and dry mix packing - ABCO Laboratoriesdry mixes spices
Fairfield, CA · abcolabs.com · source
Custom, contract and private label manufacturing - Pacific Choice Brandssaucessalsapickles ferments
Fresno, CA · pacificchoice.com · source
Sauces, salsa and pickled items; co-packing and private label - Blossom Valley Foodssauceshot sauceoils vinegarsbeverages
Gilroy, CA · blossomvalleyfoods.com · source
Sauces, dressings, vinegars and cocktail mixers - CMS Fine Foods
Healdsburg, CA · cmsfinefoods.com · source
Sonoma County co-packer - Timber Crest Farms
Healdsburg, CA · timbercrest.com · source
Licensed high and low acid canning in glass - Bella Viva Orchardssnacks granolaproduceorganic certified
Hughson, CA · bellaviva.com · source
Dried fruit and nuts; listed by UC as co-packer - Felbro Food Products
Los Angeles, CA · felbro.com · source
Full-service food manufacturer; co-packing and private label - Bell-Carter Packaging
Modesto, CA · bcpackaging.com · source
Contract packaging, warehousing and fulfillment - George Chiala Farmsfrozenproduce
Morgan Hill, CA · gcfarmsinc.com · source
Vegetable ingredients: freezing, fire roasting, dehydration - California Hot Sauce Solutionshot saucesaucessmall batch
Oceanside, CA · californiahotsaucesolutions.com
Craft hot sauce maker with custom sauces and co-packing - Traina Foodsproduce
Patterson, CA · trainadriedfruit.com · source
Dried fruit ingredients with co-packing - Triple H Food Processors
Riverside, CA · triplehfoods.com · source
Multi-use food processing; co-packing and private label - Maison de Monacojams preservessmall batch
San Francisco, CA · maisondemonaco.com · source
Jam maker offering private label and small-batch co-packing - Santini Foodssaucesoils vinegars
San Lorenzo, CA · santinifoods.com · source
Condensed milk, syrups and dressings; co-manufacturing and private label - Gil's Gourmet Gallerypickles fermentssauces
Sand City, CA · gilsgourmet.com · source
Specialty olives and condiments; private label - E. Waldo Ward & Sonjams preservessaucessmall batch
Sierra Madre, CA · waldoward.com
Jams, marmalades and sauces; co-pack services - Sonoma Gourmetsaucesoils vinegarsorganic certified
Sonoma, CA · sonomagourmet.com · source
Organic pasta sauces and olive oils; listed as co-packer - Cal Pack Foodsbeverages
Torrance, CA · calpackfoods.com
Co-packing for fresh foods and drinks - Z Specialty Foodhoney
Woodland, CA · zspecialtyfood.com · source
Varietal honey and nut butters; private label
Cold storage and fulfillment in California
4 listed. Refrigerated and frozen warehousing, and companies that pick, pack and ship orders for food brands. Ask about minimums, since some mostly serve larger brands.
- eGourmet Solutions (Fresno fulfillment center)frozen
Fresno, CA · egourmet.com · source
Frozen, refrigerated and ambient ecommerce fulfillment for food brands - Los Angeles Cold Storagefrozen
Los Angeles, CA · lacold.com
Public refrigerated and frozen warehousing since 1895 - Dreisbach Enterprisesfrozen
Oakland, CA · dreisbach.com
Temperature-controlled warehousing and cold supply chain services - D L Cole and Company (SCV Cold Storage)beverages
Valencia, CA · source
Refrigerated warehousing for craft beverage and food producers
Distributors and food hubs in California
10 listed. Specialty, natural and local food distributors, and food hubs that aggregate from small producers.
- Harvest Hub (North Coast Growers' Association)produce
Arcata, CA · northcoastgrowersassociation.org · source
Cooperative distribution for North Coast farms - North Valley Food Hub (CSU Chico)produce
Chico, CA · regenerativeag.csuchico.edu · source
Online marketplace linking North Valley farms and wholesale buyers - Spork Food Hubproduce
Davis, CA · sporkfoodhub.com · source
Local farm food distributor to schools and institutions - Fresno BIPOC Produceproduce
Fresno, CA · fresnobipocproduce.com · source
Food hub selling produce from Central Valley BIPOC farmers - Food Rootsproduce
Los Angeles, CA · foodroots.co · source
Distributes locally grown Asian specialty produce - Cream Co. Meatsmeat
Oakland, CA · creamcomeats.com
USDA whole-animal butchery and distributor for regenerative ranches - FEED Cooperativeproduce
Petaluma, CA · feedsonoma.com · source
Farmer and employee owned food hub for North Bay farms - Old Grove Orangeproduce
Redlands, CA · oldgroveorange.com · source
Small grower group selling farm to school - Foodshed Cooperativeproduce
San Diego, CA · foodshedcooperative.com · source
Cooperative food hub for small San Diego farms - Tahoe Food Hubproduce
Truckee, CA · tahoefoodhub.org · source
Nonprofit hub distributing regional farm products around Tahoe
Small meat processors in California
5 listed. State and USDA inspected plants. Ask each one whether it takes custom or private-label work for farms and ranches.
- J&R Natural Meats (now Sinton & Sons)meat
Paso Robles, CA · sintonandsons.com · source
USDA harvest and cut and wrap on the Central Coast - Bud's Custom Meatsmeat
Penngrove, CA · budscustommeat.com · source
State inspected mobile harvest and cut and wrap - Golden Gate Meat Companymeat
Santa Rosa, CA · goldengatemeatcompany.com · source
USDA cut and wrap; wholesale and retail meats - Sonoma County Meat Co.meat
Santa Rosa, CA · sonomacountymeatco.com · source
USDA and state inspected cut and wrap - Sanders Meat Servicemeat
Turlock, CA · sandersmeatservice.com · source
USDA and state inspected cut and wrap
Suppliers that ship to California
Packaging, fulfillment and distribution are mostly national. See insulated boxes, gel packs and dry ice, jars, labels and boxes, cold storage and fulfillment and specialty food distributors. For the how-to, read how to start cold shipping and shipping supplies for food makers.
Get listed, or fix a listing
Co-packer, shared kitchen, packaging supplier, cold storage or distributor that works with small food makers and farms? Send the details and we will add you. Listings are free. If something here is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
Software and setup for makers
Madeline's sets up the back office for small food makers and farms: inventory and lot tracking, shipping and cold chain, wholesale ordering, recipe costing and labels and more. See Artisanal Solutions, or sell on the Madeline's marketplace.
Questions
What is a co-packer?
A co-packer (contract packer) is a licensed food plant that makes and packs your product to your recipe. You own the brand and the recipe. They own the equipment, the inspections and the labor. Most ask for a minimum run, so call several and compare minimums, price per unit and what they will source for you.
Shared kitchen or co-packer: which do I need?
If you are still making it yourself, rent time in a shared or commissary kitchen. It is licensed, so you can sell beyond cottage food limits. When orders outgrow your own hands, a co-packer takes over production. Many makers use a kitchen for a year or two first.
Where does this list come from?
From public lists kept by state agriculture departments, university extension and food innovation centers, and from each business's own site. Listings that came from a public list link to that source. A listing is not an endorsement, so check licensing, insurance and minimums yourself.
How do I get listed or fix a listing?
Use the form on this page. Listings are free.
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By what you need
- Co-packers
- Shared and commissary kitchens
- Food business programs and official lists
- Sauce and hot sauce co-packers
- Beverage co-packers
- Bakery, snack and chocolate co-packers
- Jam, pickle and ferment co-packers
- Cold storage and fulfillment
- Specialty food distributors and food hubs
- Small meat processors
- Cold shipping supplies
- Jars, labels and boxes
Sources: public lists from state agriculture departments, university extension and food innovation centers, and each business's own site. Listings are independent businesses and are not affiliated with Madeline's. A listing is not an endorsement.