Food and Beverage
Advantage Valley is Fertile Soil for Growth-Minded Entrepreneurs
Advantage Valley has always been a great place to start or grow a small business, and our team provides a wealth of resources to small business owners and entrepreneurs alike. Our FASTER WV (Fostering Advantages for Start Ups & Entrepreneurial Resurgence in WV) initiative is here to identify, encourage, and support businesses like yours through a series of information-packed webinars and other helpful resources.
🔹🍺🔹Calling FOOD & BEVERAGE producers in Advantage Valley!🔹🥐🔹
We need to your input!
We ask that you take a few minutes and respond to our short 6-question survey by March 8th!
We are seeking funds to help you grow your business and need to know your priorities.
Click HERE to take the survey ~ or scan QR code!
Archive of Recorded Webinars
Watch Now:
FASTER WV Webinar
How to Start orScale Up Your Food or Beverage Business
April 28, 2022
FASTER WV Webinar
Steps to Scaling Your Food and Beverage Business
May 13, 2021
FASTER WV Webinar
Cottage Food Sales
June 10, 2020
How to Get Started!
Advantage Valley
Bryan Shaw
Director of Entrepreneurial Development
(304) 352-1165
Send Bryan an Email!
On the Horizon!
Charleston’s Food Enterprise Incubator
CLICK HERE to register your interest in being a part of the future Food Enterprise Incubator.
As part of the recently announced ACT Now Coalition package of grant awards totaling $62.8 million for eight economic development projects in southern West Virginia, the LIFT (Learning Innovative Food & Technology) Center, will be developed in the Kanawha Manufacturing building in downtown Charleston. Food and beverage manufacturers in the region will benefit greatly from access to this new food hub facility with co-packing capabilities and equipment.
The 17,000 sq. ft. Charleston Food Manufacturing Hub will include a shared kitchen rental space with wraparound entrepreneurial services, co-packing food production and aggregation, cold storage, and docking space to meet growing needs for access to healthy local foods and to boost small business entrepreneurial food endeavors and resiliency in the region. The Food Hub will also be able to process and distribute agribusiness produced from repurposed former mine lands, supported by the WVU Sustainable Mine Lands component project. The Food Hub will be managed by Coalfield’s affiliate enterprise ReFresh Appalachia, and include partners the Charleston Capital Market, the Charleston Food & Farm Collaborative, and other food entrepreneurs who are backed by Advantage Valley through the GROW Now component project.
West Virginia Department of Agriculture
Lacy Davidson Ferguson, Business Development & Marketing Division