FocusMaine created 1,200 jobs, $262M in revenue over 5 years, report says

Photo / Courtesy, FocusMaine Maine’s geographical location and access to land and sea resources position the state as a key player in aquaculture, agriculture and value-added food and beverage production, says FocusMaine.

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By Laurie Schreiber

From 2018 through 2023, FocusMaine helped create 1,200 jobs, generated $261.7 million in sales revenue for Maine companies and added $70 million in earnings for the state’s workforce, according to its latest impact report.

FocusMaine is a private-sector organization working to create jobs in the state's food sector and bioeconomy.

In collaboration with Educate Maine, FocusMaine has also enrolled over 2,700 interns through Maine Career Catalyst, a workforce development program.

The 2023 cohort reflected diverse demographics: 26% of interns identified as Black, Indigenous or People of Color, 61% were women or gender-diverse, and 22% were first-generation college students. Nearly three-quarters of the interns expressed interest in pursuing a career in Maine after completing their internships.

Job growth

Sebastian Belle, executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Association, said FocusMaine has been “instrumental in helping Maine’s aquaculture sector thrive. Their support has enabled us to expand our team, create more jobs, and build a stronger, more resilient industry.”

For 2024, overall job growth was:

1% across all Maine sectors
3% in the Maine food sector, which includes 1,731 companies
1 in 11, or 9%, of all Maine food companies participate in FocusMaine programs
1 in 6 new jobs in Maine’s food sector were in companies participating in FocusMaine programs.

“Through FocusMaine’s leadership and targeted programs, we've been able to help local food companies scale and compete in national markets,” said Tom Rainey, executive director of the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs.

FocusMaine collaborates with partners with a goal to accelerate the growth of high-potential industries.

Over the past six years, the growth of the food economy and bioeconomy outpaced Maine’s overall growth, and companies participating in FocusMaine programs created a net total of 577 new jobs, generating an additional $261.7 million in sales revenue, $70 million in earnings, and 618 indirectly created jobs.

Bioeconomy

Last year, the organization refined its strategy to better focus efforts within the food sector and bioeconomy, with an emphasis on fostering innovation, according to the report.

Photo / Courtesy FocusMaine

Maine is seeing a “bioeconomy boom,” says FocusMaine.

The organization said Maine is seeing a “bioeconomy boom.” Programs are aimed at attracting bioscience companies and entrepreneurs to Maine, fostering collaboration within Maine’s life sciences community, and growing its academic, scientific and entrepreneurial assets.

The report cites the Maine Life Sciences impact forum as an example of how the sector is growing.

Run in partnership between FocusMaine and the Maine Life Sciences Network at Northeastern University's Roux Institute, the forum brought together life science stakeholders — scientists, government officials, academics and business leaders — who gathered for the first time in September 2023 for a workshop to generate ideas and strategize on how to cultivate a life science ecosystem in Maine.

After a competitive review process, two pilot projects resulting from the workshop were awarded seed funding. The convening is expected to continue annually.

Food economy

FocusMaine said it also views Maine as a “food economy powerhouse.” Its work in the sector has encompassed three main areas: aquaculture, agriculture and value-added food and beverage production.

“Maine’s geographical location and unique access to land and sea resources position the state as a key player in these rapidly growing industries,” the report says. “By supporting programs and scaling businesses in the food economy, we’re capitalizing on Maine’s inherent strengths to help our food companies access and compete on a national level.”

Belle said the organization “has played a critical role in our efforts to communicate the tremendous potential for aquaculture to help Maine’s coastal communities diversify their economies and become more resilient in the face of significant social and ecological change.”

Acceleration

The organization is now in an “acceleration phase.”

“We built a foundation, successfully launching our vision into real, tangible programming, and our sectors have been growing steadily for nearly six years,” the report says. “As FocusMaine enters its next phase, we are looking to accelerate our impact, build our programming, and deliver on our commitment to a prosperous Maine economy.”

In the acceleration phase, the goal is to foster:

Collaboration and innovation, including entrepreneurs creating new food products;
A regional support system of incubators, accelerators, mentors and capital;
A roster of “iconic” Maine food companies selling a range of foods from the land and sea, topping the list of preferred suppliers for major restaurants and national retailers;
Life scientists engaging in research and development of products; and
Manufacturing sites fed by incubators fostering new developments and commercialization of scientific discoveries.