Food Contract Manufacturing

Growing brands need more than a facility with open line time. They need a contract food manufacturer that understands their product, operates with precision, and has the capacity to keep pace as volume climbs. At Henry Broch Foods, that’s exactly what we’ve spent over 80 years building.

Based in Waukegan, Illinois, our 500,000-sq.-ft. Midwest facility operates 32 purpose-built production lines for ambient food manufacturing. We serve global CPGs, regional brands, and emerging companies across retail and foodservice, all from a single, strategically located hub with direct access to U.S. distribution networks.

What We Do as a Contract Food Manufacturer

Our food contract manufacturing capabilities cover the full production process, from blending and filling to primary packaging and finished goods. We specialize in dry and ambient formats, including:

Dry blending — seasoning blends, protein blends, macaroni and cheese bases, snack seasonings, and more
Precision filling — fine powders to complex formulations, filled to your exact specifications
Primary packaging — pouches, rigid containers, cartons, cups, and bulk formats for retail and foodservice

We don’t hand your project off to a junior team and hope for the best. With 350+ dedicated team members and 140+ active customers, Henry Broch operates with the kind of structure that protects your formula and your timeline.

Ambient Food Manufacturing at Scale, With Room to Flex

Ambient food manufacturing requires tight process control and consistent execution across every run. We are compliant with GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) via BRCGS (Brand Reputation through Compliance Global Standards), so quality is built into how we work.

What separates Henry Broch from a typical contract food manufacturer is our willingness to flex. We offer right-sized minimum order quantities that help mid-sized brands protect working capital while still accessing a world-class production environment. As your volume grows, our 32 lines scale with you, no scrambling for capacity, no switching partners.

Whether you produce retail-ready consumer products or high-volume foodservice ingredients, we configure our lines to match your specifications.

The Henry Broch Difference

We started as an ingredient brokerage firm in 1941 and have spent decades building deep expertise in how ingredients behave, how formulas perform at scale, and what food brands need from a manufacturing partner. That history informs every project we take on.

Here’s what our customers count on:

Midwest location, national reach. Waukegan sits at a logistics crossroads, putting you close to major distribution hubs across the country, keeping freight costs predictable and lead times tight.
Transparent capacity. You know exactly where your product stands in our production schedule. No surprises at the end of the quarter.
Vertically integrated quality. By working hand in hand with our ingredient suppliers, we keep a close eye on every input, not just the finished product that comes off the line.

One customer scaled 400% in under three years with Henry Broch as their food contract manufacturing partner. Another credits our flexibility in helping them manage unexpected demand spikes without losing margin or speed.

Start Your Food Contract Manufacturing Conversation with Henry Broch

Brands that choose Henry Broch get a contract food manufacturer with the infrastructure to scale and the focus to treat their product as a priority, not just another SKU. Our team is ready to review your specifications and outline a production approach built around your goals. Fill out our contact form today, and let’s put a plan together.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Henry Broch work with brands that are still in product development?

Yes. While our core focus is food contract manufacturing at scale, we work with brands at every stage. If your formula is still being refined, our team can help assess production feasibility and identify any adjustments that would affect run efficiency or packaging compatibility. We encourage early conversations to plan appropriately before production begins.

How does intellectual property protection work in a contract manufacturing relationship?

Protecting your formula is a fundamental part of how we operate. Before any production begins, we establish confidentiality agreements that cover your recipes, specifications, and proprietary processes. Henry Broch has active relationships with 140+ customers, and maintaining trust across that customer base depends entirely on airtight IP practices.

Can Henry Broch handle retail and foodservice SKUs for the same brand?

Absolutely. Our production lines accommodate retail-ready consumer formats (pouches, cartons, rigid containers, cups) as well as bulk formats for foodservice back-of-house use. Many of our customers run both channels through our single facility, which simplifies vendor management and maintains consistent quality standards across all formats.