Illinois Co-Packers to Make and Package Your Food Product: Jams, Salsa, Sauces, Pickles, Cookies, Pies, cakes, whatever!

Looking for Illinois Co-Packers to Make and Package Your Food Product: Jams, Salsa, Sauces, Pickles, Cookies, Pies, cakes, whatever! in 2024?  Scroll down this page and  follow the links. And if you bring home some fruit or vegetables and want to can, freeze, make jam, salsa or pickles, see this page for simple, reliable, illustrated canning, freezing or preserving directions. There are plenty of other related resources, click on the resources dropdown above.  If you are having a hard time finding canning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price & ship in 2 days.

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Illinois Co-Packers to Make and Package Your Food Product: Jams, Salsa, Sauces, Pickles, Cookies, Pies, cakes, whatever!

Illinois Co-Packers: Want to Sell Your Salsa, Preserves, Jams, Etc.? Learn About Using A CoPacker to Prepare It!

If you want to make and sell your home-made preserves, salsa, spaghetti sauce, applesauce, apple butter, jams, jellies, or whatever, you will need a licensed kitchen to prepare and can the food. That's fine for relatively small quantities, and if there is a licensed kitchen to rent nearby at a good cost. See this page for shared use kitchens in Illinois. But it may be less expensive (and less risky) for your new business to use a CoPacker to prepare their food, according to you recipe and process. 

What is a Co-Packer?

Co-packers manufacture and package foods for other companies to sell.  These products range from nationally-known brands to private labels.  Entrepreneurs choose to use the services of copackers for many reasons.  Copackers can provide entrepreneurs with a variety of services in addition to manufacturing and packaging products.  They can often help in the formulation of the product.  The copacker may function only as a packer of other people's products or may be in business with his own product line.  They may be, in fact, manufacturing several competing products.  The range of services available from a copacker will vary depending on the size and experience of the copacker and the type of facilities and the capacity of their plant.

Choosing a Co-Packer

You will want to choose a co-packer who has experience making the type of product and packaging that you need.  You may also want to choose a co-packer that is located close to you or your source materials and/or market or distribution centers to reduce costs.

See this page for much, much more about co-packers, like advantages, disadvantages and how to choose a copacker.

The following list consists of companies in Illinois that have co-packing capabilities. This list is neither all-inclusive, nor is it meant to serve as an endorsement.

If you are a co-packer wishing to be added to this list, add your information here.

Illinois Co-Packers

• Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America, Inc. - Copacker, Food Solutions
  1300 North Arlington Heights Rd., Suite 110, Itasca, IL 60143. Phone: 773-714-1436. Email: ajina_csr@ajiusa.com. helping food manufacturers of all sizes deliver the highest quality of taste enhancement. With our broad portfolio of innovative ingredient solutions that span the sweet, savory and texture categories, we're able to solve all types of formulation challenges.
• Assemblies Unlimited Inc - Copacker, Packaging, Cold packing, Kosher, CERTIFIED ORGANIC, Nut-free facility, Glass, Plastic, Metal, Paper, We can source (find) packaging, Private labeling, Larger volumes only
  141 Covington Drive, Bloomingdale, IL 60108. Phone: (877) 273-6259. Open: See their website for for hours and availability. Directions: See their website for directions. Click here for a map and directions. We are a full turnkey Contract Packaging company who services all industries and almost any product category, including food and non-food packaging, liquid and dry filling, primary and secondary services. We have multiple locations and a national footprint of copacking facilities. Our value proposition is unmatched response, seamless project management and a good customer experience. Dupage County. (ADDED: July 24, 2020, Suggested by a visitor)
• Dutch American Foods, Inc. - Copacker, Dry Food Processing Co-Packers
  1362 Dutch American Way, Beecher, Il. 60401. Phone: 708-946-3000.  Centrally Located in Chicago. Blending, Packaging, Turnkey, Bag in Carton.
• Food Blends - Copacker, dry ingredients blending
  1208 North Swift Road, Addison, IL 60101. Phone: 630-678-5300. Fax: 630-678-5311. Email: info@foodblends.com.
• Harvest Food Group - Copacker, Frozen fruit, vegetable, rice, pasta, protein, sauce blending and packing
  4412 West 44th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60632. Phone: 773-847-3313. Harvest Food Group is a leading co-packer of frozen fruits and vegetables, entrees, sides, meal kits and specialty items to retail, industrial, and foodservice providers nationwide. Our USDA inspected and approved facilities allow our customers to benefit by buying frozen goods in lower cost totes, then storing, blending, packing and, if desired, private labeling goods, including graphic development and package design, for distribution under their insignia. As further value our customers can rely on, Harvest has achieved SQF Level 3 Certification for its comprehensive quality management systems development. Our Capabilities:
  Vertical form fill seal bagging
  Clear or printed, standard or laminated, gusseted and four-corner poly seal bags
  (2 oz to 6.25 lbs)
  Tray/bowl packing and boxing
  Sauce coating (enrobing)
  Flavor packet insertion
• Kernel Season's LLC - Copacker, Gluten-free, Kosher, Organic/Natural popcorn and Other Oils
  Contact: Jean Doyle, 2401 East Devon Avenue, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007. Phone: 773-292-4567. Fax: 773-326-0869. Email: info@kernelseasons.com.
• Kuntry Kettle LLC - Copacker, Acidified canning, Hot packing, Glass, Scale-up recipes, We can file forms and paperwork, We can source (find) ingredients, We can source (find) packaging, Private labeling
  178 Gordon Rd, Ava, IL 62907. Phone: (618) 426-1600. Email: contact@kkmail.email . Open: See their website for for hours and availability. Directions: Click here for a map and directions. We are a family owned company. Our facility is third party audited to GMP standards, with a quality control program, and a record of timely delivery. We have a history of helping start-ups, with the capacity to manage larger volumes as well. We have excellent capacity and experience producing salsa, pasta sauce, jam, and apple butter for brand owners and private label markets. (UPDATED: January 14, 2022)  (ADDED: May 13, 2020, Suggested by a visitor)
• National Foodworks Services - Copacking, private labeling, shared use facility
  575 N. Brush College Rd, Decatur, IL 62521. Phone: 217-330-8512.
  National Foodworks Services is a contract packaging and manufacturing facility located in the Heart of Central Illinois operating under a HACCP plan and GMPs with a focus on Quality and Food Safety. We specialize in Product Testing, Pilot Production and Artisanal, Small-batch Production Runs of ready-to-eat bars, refrigerated/frozen cookie dough, cookies and brownies. Case label and labeling imprinting equipment. Allergen and allergen free processes available. One hour free consultation. Flexible minimums, flexible scope of production runs, R & D and testing available.
• PacMoore Innovation Lab - Copacker, organic, gluten-free, kosher, halal, and non-GMO products
  202 Market Street, Gridley, IL 61744. Phone: 866-610-2666. Email: jwarren@pacmoore.com. Contact: Josh Warren, Business Development Specialist.
• Paxton Packing -  Copacker, artisan jerky co-packer
  Paxton, IL. Phone: 217-379-1705. Email: glen@522creative.com. Artisan Jerky Manufacturer, R&D, Private Label Support & Co Packer, USDA approved. . With over 20 Years of Experience as a Premier Jerky Co Packer, We Provide Quality and Consistency to Meet all Your Jerky Processing Needs. OUR SERVICES INCLUDE   SQF 2 Facility, Product Development // Custom Packaging // 2000LB Minimum
  Midwest Location // Fully Inspected USDA Facility
  All Natural Products // Balling Systems // Biltong - Grass Fed - or Grain Finished.
• Proven Partners Group - Copacker, Dry shelf storage, Kosher, Certified Organic, Nut-free facility, Plastic, Metal, Paper
  1111 Bowes Road, Elgin, IL 60123. Phone: (224) 238-2084. Email: cbarrow@provenpartnersgroup.com. Open: See their website for for hours and availability. Directions: See their website for directions. Click here for a map and directions. Payment: . We are a copacker in the Chicagoland area, supporting ambient categories. We can blend, scale fill, and multi-dose. We are SQF Level 3 and NSF certified. Located in Kane County. (ADDED: April 11, 2023)
• Turasky Meats - Copacker, Whole Muscle Beef Jerky, Pork, Meat Bars, Snack Sticks ,Restructured Jerky and Jerky Bites
  Springfield, IL. Phone: 217-522-3345. Email: info@turaskymeats.com.
  We have the following capabilities: Steam Cooking, Cook-in-Bag items, Naturally Smoked products, Portion-cut meats
  Grinding (i.e. pizza sausage), Patties using Ultra Tender forming technology, Meatball production
  We are able to package in pouch bags with a gusseted bottom for shelf stable products.
• Y-T Packing Co Turasky Meats - Copacker, meats
  1129 Taintor Road Springfield, IL 62702. Phone: 217-522-3345. Email: info@turaskymeats.com. Snack foods that are great for co-packing are:
  Snack Sticks, Restructured Jerky and Jerky Bites, Whole Muscle Beef Jerky, Pork, Meat Bars, Pet Treat Jerky Treats Grain free with Human grade ingredients.
• Van Drunen Farms - Copacker, Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) herbs and vegetables
  300 West 6^th Street, Momence, IL 60954. Phone: 815-472-3100. Fax: 815-472-3850. Email: sales@vandrunen.com.

Where can I find more information about canning?

For more than 250 specific, simple recipes with step-by-step directions and photos; and general information on canning and food preservation, see this page.