Virginia Economic Review

Like many medical device startups, Luminoah began with a bright idea brought about by a personal need. In 2019, founder Neal Piper’s young son, Noah, had a medical issue that necessitated the use of a feeding tube.

Chandra Briggman is president and CEO of Activation Capital, an independent authority that supports life sciences and advanced technology companies and entrepreneurship in the Richmond area.

John Newby is CEO of Virginia Bio, the nonprofit statewide trade association that serves and promotes the life sciences industry in the Commonwealth.

To propel its growth in Virginia, Harris Healthcare is forging partnerships internationally. “A big part of our strategy is to grow in our current international markets, but also expand into new markets,” said Jeremy Trabucco, executive vice president at Harris Healthcare, based in Herndon.

Brantley Ivey, general manager of River Ridge Land and Cattle Co. and managing partner of Landcrafted Food, recalls overhearing a farmer comment at the Virginia Governor’s Conference on Agricultural Trade: “If you’re not selling everywhere you can domestically, don’t consider exporting.”

Nestlé USA is a subsidiary of Nestlé S.A., a leading global nutrition, health and wellness company. Nestlé USA operates 79 manufacturing facilities and employs 48,000 people in the U.S.

Joel Salatin is the owner and operator of Polyface Farms in Augusta County, which focuses on sustainable, environmentally friendly agriculture. He has authored 11 books, including “Salad Bar Beef,” “Pastured Poultry Profit$,” and “The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer.”

Food and beverage processors operate in an industry where even the most successful companies depend on low margins and economies of scale. That means even the smallest advantage can be a differentiating factor when locating a new facility.

From the Port to Cold Storage to Packaging, Virginia's Supply Chain Helps Feed America and the World The information age has empowered consumers to demand more from their products. Deloitte’s 2019 Future of Fresh study found that two-thirds of U.S.

It's challenging to remember a time when Virginia — the nation’s third-largest seafood-producing state — wasn’t known for its flavorful, briny oysters and succulent clams, but the late 1990s and early 2000s were a dark era for shellfish producers.

Virginia's Surging Craft Beverage Industry Virginia's first brush with alcoholic beverage production came in 1620, when English settler George Thorpe distilled the first batch of corn whiskey in what would become the United States at the Jamestown settlement near Williamsburg.

Building a community around the love of good beer has been a central part of the philosophy behind The Virginia Beer Company, LLC (VBC) since it opened in York County near Williamsburg in 2016.