Makers & Movers: Food & Beverage Cluster Strategy
San Francisco
The City of San Francisco engaged BAE to prepare a Food and Beverage Cluster Strategy to support food and beverage producers and distributors to start, stay, and grow in San Francisco. To prepare the Strategy, BAE collaborated closely with a project team including the City’s Planning Department, the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), the urban planning non-profit SPUR, and the local manufacturing advocacy organization SFMade.
BAE provided detailed analysis of long-term local and regional employment data, citywide firm-by-firm business data from Dun & Bradstreet, local real estate trends, and responses collected from a survey of local food and beverage manufacturing business owners. BAE also facilitated a half-day Food and Beverage Business Forum that was attended by over 40 entrepreneurs and food industry experts. Based on extensive data analysis and insights gleaned at the Business Forum, BAE worked with a Steering Committee comprising local business owners and City staff to formulate a series of policies and actions which can be implemented to promote growth and support increased entrepreneurship in San Francisco’s Food and Beverage Production and Distribution economy.
Key findings from the study include a recent employment uptick in local food production, a strong need to help micro-businesses grow and navigate City Hall, and a major weakness in local transportation systems, including both lack of parking for non-truck food delivery vehicles and limited late-night bus service for employees. Policy recommendations also include consolidated technical assistance from City staff, financial support to fund space ownership options, and networking support to connect suppliers and wholesalers with production entrepreneurs.