Brantford is a leader in food and beverage manufacturing. With a growing list of 20 companies in the sector employing approximately 2,300 people, we are a strategic centre in Ontario for new and expanding operations.  These companies help form a significant food processing cluster in Canada.

Ontario is also one of North America's largest agri-food sectors. Companies locate here because they are close to more than 200 agricultural commodities and a market of 460 million consumers. Ontario is North America's second largest centre for food processing.

Investment in Brantford’s food and beverage industry makes good economic sense. This is most evident in our central and strategic location, available and experienced workforce, competitive wages, network of leading food and beverage manufacturers, and proximity to plentiful agricultural commodities.

food workers discuss options in a production facility
2300 workers

About 2,300 workers employed in the industry locally, and access to many more.

front end loader moves bags of raw food materials
2.7M sq. ft.

2.7 million square feet / 246,800 square metres of active production space locally, and growing.

food technician holds beans in his hand in warehouse
3000 producers

Brantford is located at the centre of over 3,000 food producers in Ontario.

crops growing in soil
230 commodities

Access 8.9 million ac. / 3.6 million ha. producing over 230 agricultural commodities in Ontario.

We are proud of the many companies in this sector that call Brantford home. Below are some additional sectoral highlights.

Spotlight: Ferrero Canada Ltd./Ltée.

Ferrero logo

Ferrero Canada facilities

Ferrero Canada Ltd./Ltée

Investment: $600 million
Total Size:  1.5 million square feet / 139,400 square metres
Total Employees: 900

Ferrero Canada continues to invest in Brantford, Ontario because it's ideally situated to service North America, which is a strategic growth market for our company, and provides easy access to key suppliers and partners. The City of Brantford is highly supportive of our business and industry, and it has shown strong commitment and dedication in building a thriving economy. As a proud member of the community, our manufacturing presence and our ongoing investments allow us to be more forward-thinking so that we can look to build an effective end-to-end supply chain in Brantford.

Fabrizio Secco, (former) Managing Director, Industrial Division, Ferrero Canada Ltd./Ltée
Industry facts and figures
Local statistics

The food and beverage manufacturing sector in Brantford is a significant contributor to our local economy. Below are some key figures from our 2018 Industrial Survey.

  • Companies: 20 companies (estimated)
  • Total size : 2.7 million square feet or 206,000 square metres (estimated)
  • Employees: 2,300 people (estimated)
Major employers
 
Major employers

Company

Square Feet

Square Meters

Total Jobs
Aspire Bakeries 400,000 37,200 385
Dure Foods Limited 53,000 4,900 39
Ferrero Canada Ltd./Ltée 1,500,000 139,400 900
Grissin Bon Ltd. 35,000 3,300 15
Lohmann Tierzucht Canada  20,000 1,900 50
Normerica Inc. 40,000 3,700 70
Pillers Fine Foods 90,000 8,400 150
Treehouse Private Brands 144,000 13,400 404
Recent investments
Recent investments

Company

Investment Size
square feet (square metres)

Investment Jobs

Investment Value ($)
Ferrero Canada Ltd./Ltée 40,000 (3,700) 40 $70.0 Million
Golden Mile Foods 92,700 (8,600)

N/A

 $5.2 Million

NA: not available/applicable.

TBD: to be determined.

Note: investment values may be land purchases, building expansions, facility renovations, or equipment purchases. Jobs, values, and sizes do not necessarily correlate or represent a fixed ratio.