Food and Beverage

Agricultural roots, today's palates.

“Made in Vermont” is synonymous in the minds of consumers with high-quality, authentic, artisanal products.

60,078 

Food system jobs (2022)

693

organic farms in vermont (2022)

$1.5 billion

in restaurant sales (2022)

15.6

breweries per capita (#1 in u.s.
per 100,000 21+ adults) (2022)

Innovation and interconnectivity from farm to plate.

Vermont is quickly becoming the East Coast epicenter of food and farm entrepreneurship.

Vermont ranks first in the nation for craft breweries per capita and is regularly recognized for its award-winning cheeses from companies like The Cellars at Jasper Hill, Spring Brook Farm, Vermont Creamery, and Cabot Creamery Cooperative. The Alchemist Brewery’s Heady Topper is a widely-sought-after favorite and Hill Farmstead has been named the best brewery in Vermont, the United States, and the world (for the 4th time in a row!) by RateBeer.com. 

Vermont food products are in high demand nationally; the state produces 47 percent of the nation’s maple crop — making it the national leader — and 67 percent of all milk in New England. Major regional and national players include AgriMarkCommonwealth Dairy, and Ben & Jerry’s in the dairy industry; and Long Trail BrewingWoodchuck Cider, and Caledonia Spirits in beverages. King Arthur Baking Co., a 200-year-old, employee-owned company, is the largest producer of bread flour in the country. 

Within the food system, producers collaborate, recognizing the value of working together to promote their products, share best practices, and expand Vermont’s reputation for world-class products. 

Since the state began implementing its first Farm to Plate Strategic Plan, Vermont has added 6,560 food-system jobs — now totaling almost 65,000 — and increased food-system gross sales by 32% and value-added food manufacturing by 58%. In the past ten years, 10 new inspected meat processing facilities and 151 new dairy processing facilities (both on-and off-farm) came online, fueling continued sustainable growth in the state’s thriving agriculture sector (based on 2019 data). 

Vermont attracts students who value farms and food, and there are many talented graduates interested in being part of the local food system. Opportunities abound from short courses and stackable credentials, to a 2-year hands-on technical degree to four-year bachelor degrees and even a food systems masters or law degree. Higher education institutions such as the University of VermontVermont Technical CollegeSterling CollegeVermont Law SchoolMiddlebury College, and Bennington College keep the talent pipeline full, turning out scores of skilled graduates annually, with programming and certificates in almost two dozen core areas of food systems study.

 

Interested in the food and beverage industry but don’t know where to start?

Vermont Businesses Are Hiring:

Food and Beverage in Vermont

How to Eat Like a Local in Vermont

How to Eat Like a Local in Vermont

The bright rainbow of local produce and the smells of ground coffee and fresh-baked bread make diving into local food a delicious experience. From farmers markets to CSAs to growing your own or dining out, here’s how to eat like a local in Vermont.

Meet the Maple Sugarmaker: Baird Farm

Meet the Maple Sugarmaker: Baird Farm

Is there anything more Vermont than making maple syrup?  We all look forward to those warmer winter days and cold nights because we know the maple...

In Vermont, Food is
Serious Business

From world class restaurants and family owned bakeries to global brand ice cream and beer, Vermont’s food and beverage establishments and manufacturers  employ tens of thousands, delivering the bounty of our thriving food system.

Vermont’s Breweries, Distilleries & Cideries 

14th Star Brewing Company LLC
1st Republic Brewing Co
Appalachian Gap Distillery
Bent Hill Brewery, LLC
Black Flannel Brewing Co.
Burlington Beer
Caledonia Spirits, Inc
Champlain Orchards Inc
Citizen Cider
Cold Hollow Cider Mill
Eden Specialty Ciders
Farnham Ale & Lager - South Burlington
Foley Brothers Brewing
Frost Beer Works
Groennfell Meadery
Harpoon Brewery
Hermit Thrush Brewery
Hill Farmstead Brewery
Kingdom Brewing
Lawson's Finest Liquids, LLC
Long Trail Brewing Company
Magic Hat Brewing Company & Performing Arts Center, Inc.
McNeill's Brewery
Mountain Cider Company
Next Trick Brewing
Northshire Brewery
Otter Creek Brewing Company, LLC
River Roost Brewery
Smugglers' Notch Distillery
Spirits of Old Bennington
Stonecutter Spirits LLC
Stowe Cider
Switchback Brewing Co
Ten Bends Beer
The Alchemist Cannery
Trout River Brewing Co.
Vermont Brewers Association
Vermont Cider Co.
Vermont Distillers
Vermont Pub & Brewery
Vermont Spirits Distilling Company
Whetstone Station Restaurant and Brewery
WhistlePig Farms
WhistlePig, LLC
Windfall Orchard
Woodchuck Cider
Wood's Cider
Zero Gravity Craft Brewery
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St. Albans Town
Essex Junction Village
Middlebury
Braintree
Williston
Hardwick
Shoreham
Burlington
Waterbury
Newport Town
South Burlington
Brandon
Hinesburg
St. Albans
Windsor
Brattleboro
Greensboro
Newport Town
Warren
Bridgewater
South Burlington
Brattleboro
Chittenden
West Burke Village
Bennington
Middlebury
Hartford
Jeffersonville Village
Bennington
Middlebury
Stowe
Burlington
Hyde Park
Waterbury
Springfield
Burlington
Middlebury
Marlboro
Burlington
Hartford
Brattleboro
Shoreham
Cornwall
Middlebury
Springfield
Burlington

Representative Food & Beverage Businesses in Vermont

Region
Location
Southern
Brattleboro
Central
Waterbury
Southern
Springfield
Northwest
Burlington
Northeast
Morrisville
Central
Montpelier
Northwest
Essex Junction
Northwest
Enosburg Falls
Central
Barre
Northeast
Greensboro Bend
Northeast
Greensboro Bend
Central
Waterbury
Southern
Norwich
Northwest
Burlington
Northwest
Burlington
Southern
Bridgewater Corners
Northeast
Saint Johnsbury
Southern
Bennington
Central
Weybridge
Northwest
Burlington
Northwest
Shelburne
Northwest
Saint Albans
Central
Waterbury
Central
Websterville
Central
Middlebury
Southern
Rutland
Northwest
Burlington