With a strong global reputation for lobster and seafood, blueberries, and potatoes, Maine is also home to a vibrant and growing specialty food and beverage sector producing numerous products including craft beers, salsas, frozen baked goods, jams, sauces, and more.
Select Multi-National Food Companies in Maine
Thriving Food Culture
“The challenge for the visitor is how to navigate Portland’s prodigious dining options — no small task given that there are literally hundreds of restaurants in this city. One thing is certain: In a place where the local food movement got a jump start — years before the word locavore found a firm foothold in the epicurean vocabulary — you can bet that much of what you eat is likely to have been raised, foraged or caught in the surrounding fields, forests and waters.”—The New York Times, September 2013
Opportunities in Maine
Maine produces between 70 and 100 million pounds (31 – 45 mt) each year, making it the largest producer of wild blueberries in the world. Wild blueberries are smaller but contain twice the antioxidants and eight times the manganese of the bigger varieties.
Maine lobster is sustainably harvested and breeds naturally in the cold waters of the Gulf of Maine in the North Atlantic. The state is the U.S.’s leading supplier, typically 80% of of the nation’s catch, with 110.8 million pounds (50.3 million kilograms) in 2017.
Other key subsectors – broadly defined as those offering high capacity yield, strong growth potential, specialization, and processing plant opportunities – include:
- Potatoes, frozen fruit, and vegetable-based products
- Beverages including bottled water, as well as specialty alcohol and beer produced by local distilleries and breweries
- Functional foods/nutraceuticals
- Frozen specialty foods and baked goods
