Food Processor Connect Brings Industry Professionals Together at PastryStar

Food processors face many of the same questions as they grow: How can production become more efficient? How do you maintain consistency as you scale? What new products and processes are shaping the industry?

On September 21, Food Processor Connect will bring food processing professionals together at PastryStar in Laurel for an afternoon of learning, networking, and peer-to-peer conversation.

Participants will tour PastryStar’s manufacturing facility, connect with fellow industry professionals, and exchange ideas about the trends, challenges, and opportunities affecting food processing businesses.

Food processing plays a significant role in the U.S. manufacturing economy.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, food manufacturing supported approximately 1.84 million jobs in 2025, up from 1.68 million in 2021.

The industry also continues to support a large network of manufacturing operations. BLS reported more than 43,000 private food manufacturing establishments nationwide in the first quarter of 2026.

USDA data further demonstrate the industry’s importance to American manufacturing. Food and beverage manufacturing accounted for 16.8% of sales and 15.4% of employees across all U.S. manufacturing establishments in 2021, the latest figures presented by USDA for those measures.

Food manufacturers turn agricultural products into ingredients and finished foods using labor, equipment, energy, and technical expertise. They also operate in an industry shaped by changing consumer preferences, competition, production costs, technology, and evolving market opportunities.

Food Processor Connect gives participants an opportunity to see those processes firsthand at PastryStar, a family-owned bakery and pastry ingredient manufacturer.

PastryStar produces more than 250 off-the-shelf commercial bakery products, along with custom ingredients for customers ranging from artisan and industrial bakeries to grocery chains and foodservice operations.

Its Laurel facility manufactures powder mixes and wet products, with capabilities that include powder blending, kettle production, and multiple packaging formats. The facility is also Safe Quality Food (SQF) certified.

Touring an active manufacturing facility gives participants an opportunity to see how another food business approaches production, quality, consistency, and growth.

Food Processor Connect is also about creating stronger connections among the people doing the work.

Participants will have time to meet other food processing professionals, discuss shared challenges, exchange ideas, and learn from one another’s experiences.

Those conversations can be particularly valuable as food businesses navigate production demands, changing customer expectations, food safety requirements, workforce needs, and opportunities for growth.

By bringing processors together in a working facility, Food Processor Connect creates an opportunity to learn not only from the host business, but also from peers across the industry.

Whether you’re looking to meet others in the industry, learn from another manufacturer, or exchange ideas about the challenges facing your business, Food Processor Connect offers an opportunity to build relationships and gain a new perspective.

🥐 Learn about the host facility: Explore PastryStar and its bakery and pastry ingredient manufacturing capabilities.

🏭 Explore national industry data: Find current employment, establishment, wage, and productivity information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Food Manufacturing Industry Profile.

🌾 Learn more about food and beverage manufacturing: Explore industry research and data from the USDA Economic Research Service.