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The State of Georgia, already riding a period of steady growth and a year of massive investment in facility expansions and new locations, is adding more new food-related projects to its extensive list.

Recently, companies announced three major projects worth more than $514 million which will be going up in various locations across the state and create more than 800 jobs, on top of the more than $26.3 billion in investment in the past year, which is a record for the Peach State.

New projects announced earlier are set to create 23,200 new private-sector jobs over the next few years.

Pilgrim’s, one of the world’s leading food companies, is investing $400 million to build a new, multi-phase, prepared foods facility at the Walker County Business Park in LaFayette that will support more than 630 new jobs. The project is underway and expected to be completed in 2027.

Across Georgia, the company currently supports an estimated 7,500 jobs and operates seven food production facilities, in addition to supporting facilities like feed mills and hatcheries. Pilgrim’s employs more than 61,000 people and operates protein processing plants and prepared-foods facilities in 14 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the U.K., Republic of Ireland and Europe.

Pilgrim’s CEO Fabio Sandri said in a statement expanding the firm’s footprint in Georgia highlights the company’s ongoing commitment to the state and long-term business growth strategy.

The facility will produce a variety of cooked chicken products to support its prepared foods business. Hiring for the plant will begin in 2027, aligning with the expected completion of the first phase of construction.

Food company King’s Hawaiian is investing $54 million to expand its Oakwood South Industrial Park in northeast Georgia that will create more than 135 new jobs.

The expansion will add a new production line at the 150,000-square-foot facility located in the industrial park. Start-up of the new line is expected in the second quarter of next year.

Mark Taira, CEO of King’s Hawaiian, said the expansion represents a major milestone in the company’s journey and the firm is thrilled to be growing its extended family in Hall County, Ga.

“For 15 years, Georgia has been an essential part of our success,” he said. “The support from Lanier Technical College, Georgia Quick Start, and the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce has been instrumental in helping us train and develop talent to grow our business.”

King’s Hawaiian was founded in 1950 by the Taira family in Hilo, Hawaii. Since establishing a presence in Georgia in 2010, the company’s footprint has grown to support more than 800 jobs in the state.

Meanwhile, Ti Cold and Karis Cold have started construction on a $60-million cold storage facility for PermaCold Logistics in Darien, McIntosh County, that will support 50 jobs. Ti Cold is a cold storage builder and developer and Karis is a private investment and development company.

The new facility is located at Tidewater Industrial Park. The structure will have a clear height of 50 feet and feature a flexible, convertible design that maintains temperatures ranging from 40 F to -10 F.

The facility will incorporate an environmentally friendly refrigeration system. Additionally, structural steel pallet racks will accommodate more than 30,000 pallet positions.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) says it’s been a year of continued expansion for business. Between July 1, 2024, and June 30 of this year, GDEcD’s global commerce team supported 423 facility expansions and new locations.

Gov. Brian Kemp issued a statement, noting Georgia has been the number one state in the country for business for more than a decade because of its unmatched ability to attract new companies and create an environment where existing employers can grow and thrive.

“(The) numbers are just the latest confirmation that our partnership approach and the hard work of our incredible economic development team are delivering results for Georgians that will pay off for generations.”

Expansions at existing Georgia companies accounted for 74 per cent of the projects, building on an estimated 50,000 jobs already employing Georgians.

State officials credit Georgia’s business-friendly environment for the progress, with 77 per cent of all expansions and new locations in 2025 occurring in communities outside the 10-county Atlanta region.

Metro Atlanta remains one of the top business hubs in the southeast U.S. Companies like TriNet, A.I.G., CRH, Duracell, and Mercedes-Benz have established or expanded key corporate functions in the region.

Other notable investments have been made by Irving Tissue in Macon, GreenBox Systems in Butts County, and a KISS USA expansion in Bryan County.