Food & Beverage Industry Profile - Hamilton Economic Development

HAMILTON
FOOD AND BEVERAGE
Quick FACTS
Hamilton’s population is growing. From 1996 to 2001, the population increased by almost
5% to 490,268 making it the 4th largest of all Ontario communities, preceded only by
Toronto, Ottawa and Mississauga.
During the same time, Hamilton’s employed labour force increased by over 10%.
In 2001, 4,360 people were employed in the food and beverage sector in the City of
Hamilton, representing 5% of Ontario’s food industry workforce.
Local employment is concentrated in sugar and confectionery product manufacturing,
meat product manufacturing, bakeries and tortilla manufacturing, beverage
manufacturing, fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing.
Companies in these sectors are involved in all aspects of food manufacturing from the
processing of raw materials to packaging and distribution.
Hamilton’s growth in the sector is being driven by multinational, homegrown operations
and successful small business operations.
In a recent local business survey a significant majority of food and beverage
manufacturing operations surveyed expressed a high level of satisfaction with the location
advantages offered by the City of Hamilton.
Percentage of Employees in the Food and Beverage Sector
in Hamilton, 2000
Sugar and confectionery product
24% manufacturing
Bakeries and tortilla
16% manufacturing
Beverage
15% manufacturing
Fruit and vegetable preserving and
11% specialty food manufacturing
18%
Meat product manufacturing
04
16% Other
Source: urbanMetrics inc.