Feasibility of a Processing Facility

Lauri Jo's Southern Style Canning, LLC, a canning facility in Colquitt County, contracted with the UGA Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development to conduct an economic feasibility study for a commercial kitchen food processing and co-packing facility to be located in southwest Georgia. This processing plant will provide gourmet food products with a southern flair for many years to come while offering job opportunities to local people. The business, which uses commodities it produces locally, has great interest in investigating additional value-added opportunities to sustain its economic viability. The UGA study addressed the technical feasibility of the proposed facility and included guidelines and recommendations related to regulatory issues surrounding food processing. The market analysis portion of the study addressed competition, consumer trends, restaurant trends, specialty food trends, consumption patterns, and local food awareness. Target markets were identified and characterized with current demographics. The study also addressed management needs for a successful business venture. The financial analysis section addressed the overall economic cost and returns for the value-added processing facility. While desiring to remain a family owned enterprise, the canning business envisions expanding its business and product base and employing locally to further enhance the local and state economy. The business' product sales have been and continue to grow significantly. The current limiting factor has been facility size and the inability to produce products given limited capacity. The new facility under consideration in this study will solve that issue. Expansion of the canning business appears economically feasible. The company moved forward with the expansion. They celebrated their grand opening of the new facility in October 2011.