Downtown-based Archer, a meat snack brand, announced plans earlier this month to open its second manufacturing facility in the area.
The Vernon facility is expected to create more than 200 local jobs and aid in the company’s growth. Archer touts itself as one of the fastest-growing meat snack brands in the U.S.
The company’s sales increased 90% year over year, far outpacing the sector’s 5.8% growth, according to Archer. Its meat stick sales grew by more than 187%.
“The explosive growth of our meat stick products made increasing our production capabilities essential, and doing this in Los Angeles was an intentional choice,” Eugene Kang, founder and chief executive of Archer, said in a statement. “Our founding principle has always been that supply chain ownership is crucial for maximizing margins and ensuring quality control, as evidenced by our jerky business. This expansion represents our next strategic step to vertically integrate our fastest growing product line.”
The new facility will nearly double Archer’s manufacturing capacity and will be focused on its meat sticks.
The company already has a facility in San Bernardino, which will produce jerky and meat sticks.
The Vernon site
The manufacturing facility was built for meat processing, counting Farmer John as its former occupier. The company worked out of the site for 90 years. Smithfields Food shut down the site in 2023 and sold the roughly 30-acre asset to Goodman Group.
“The size, scale, and development potential of this property adds depth to our Greater Los Angeles portfolio in a highly desirable location that meets our customers’ growing demand for supply chain optimization, cold storage requirements, faster speed-to-market, and sustainable design. Partnering with the progressive City of Vernon, we look forward to unlocking the full potential of this property,” Anthony Rozic, chief executive of Goodman North America, said at the time.
Goodman Group knocked down several buildings on the site.
The facility is roughly 140,000 square feet and is expected to be operational in September. It has both processing and packaging capabilities.
