Food & Beverage Logistics Hub
As food trends rapidly change and speed to market becomes increasingly critical, the Kansas City region is emerging as one of the largest and fastest growing food and beverage logistics hubs in the U.S. Located in the heart of the country’s agricultural region, KC is one of the best places for food and beverage production, ingredient manufacturing, cold storage and other food related supply chain activities.
Setting up operations in Kansas City means cost efficient product distribution by reaching 85% of the U.S. population in two days. Easy access to five Class I railroads and four major interstates support Kansas City’s rank as the #1 rail center in the U.S. by tonnage and #3 truck center. Kansas City has a workforce of more than 25,000 people employed in food and beverage manufacturing, warehousing and distribution.
KC Region Food & Beverage Operations
Source: JobsEQ 4Q 2019
Data represents KCADC 18-County Region
Existing Presence
More than 600 food and beverage companies call Kansas City home and it’s not hard to see why. Kansas City’s more than $226 billion food and beverage industry continues to thrive with proximity to agriculture markets, advanced logistics infrastructure and industry-specific talent. KC regional food and beverage companies include, but are not limited to:
Workforce Demographics
The food and beverage supply chain workforce in the KC region has a similar gender ratio and age distribution as the national average. However, Kansas City's food and beverage workforce is notably more educated on average than the U.S. food and beverage production workers.
Source: QWI 2019 Yearly Average
Kansas City is creating a 21st Century Workforce by cultivating a pipeline of preparation through education and training.
Manufacturing industry leaders, education and training providers, and the public workforce system are working together to assess critical hiring needs and the core competencies necessary to fill open positions. This is creating leading-edge education and training programs specifically designed to meet industry’s most pressing needs, like the implementation of the MT1 Certification. The Kansas City region is also the first to pilot a national careers campaign designed to help attract and train young people in advanced manufacturing.
Contact us about the KC Advantage
Elli Bowen
Vice President
KC SmartPort
M: 913.579.3370
O: 816.374.5640
