A purpose-built manufacturing hub at Ourimbah is giving smaller food and beverage producers access to the equipment, expertise and commercial space they need to increase production without leaving the Central Coast.
For a small food business, the distance between a promising product and commercial-scale production can be difficult to cross.
Specialised equipment is expensive, food-grade manufacturing space is scarce and increasing output brings added technical, regulatory and workforce demands. For many producers, expansion can require an investment beyond the reach of a growing business.
The new Central Coast Food Manufacturing Innovation Hub has been designed to bridge that gap.
The $17.14 million facility was officially opened at Ourimbah on Friday 10 July 2026 by Central Coast Industry Connect, alongside federal Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science Senator Tim Ayres and Member for Dobell Emma McBride. Member for Robertson Dr Gordon Reid and representatives from industry, government, education and the wider Central Coast community also attended.
Developed and operated by the not-for-profit Central Coast Industry Connect, or CCIC, the Hub gives small and medium food and beverage manufacturers access to commercial-scale facilities, shared infrastructure and specialist support to develop, test and commercialise products.
The Brownlee Street facility includes a pilot plant and eight fully serviced food-manufacturing spaces totalling 1,500 square metres, along with offices and amenities. Two food manufacturers have entered heads of agreement to occupy manufacturing units, with further space available.
The model reduces some of the cost and risk involved in expansion. Rather than establishing an entire production facility independently, businesses can access suitable space, equipment, expertise and industry connections in one location.
The Australian Government awarded funding to CCIC through the Establishing a Food Manufacturing Innovation Hub grant, fulfilling a commitment made during the 2022 federal election and included in the 2022–23 Budget.
In a joint media release marking the opening, Minister Ayres said the facility would help businesses convert ideas into successful products.
“The Central Coast Food Manufacturing Innovation Hub will help local businesses turn great ideas into successful products – creating jobs, lifting productivity and strengthening Australia’s manufacturing capability.”
McBride said the Hub would support the people behind the region’s food and beverage businesses.
“We’ve got some incredible food and beverage producers right here on the Coast, and this Hub backs the hardworking local people behind them to grow their businesses, create jobs and reach new markets.”
A project years in the making
Although the opening marks the beginning of operations at the new Ourimbah facility, the work behind the Hub stretches back more than a decade.
CCIC Executive Director Frank Sammut told guests at the opening that the project’s journey began in 2013 and acknowledged the food and beverage manufacturers, government bodies and regional organisations that had helped advance it. These included RDA Central Coast (RDACC), the University of Newcastle, Business NSW and Central Coast Council.
RDACC’s involvement grew from its broader Central Coast Food Innovation Initiative, an economic development program developed and led by the organisation to expand the region’s food, beverage and agricultural industries.
In 2018, RDACC established a formal partnership with CCIC and the University of Newcastle, including the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources. The partnership sought to build the Central Coast’s reputation as a centre of excellence in food innovation, with attracting investment in a food-manufacturing precinct and innovation hub among its key priorities.
According to John Mouland, former RDACC CEO and now Central Coast Council Deputy Mayor, RDACC continued to champion the proposed facility as a way to strengthen the local food sector, support innovation and translate product ideas into commercial businesses. It also provided facilities used to establish an interim skills hub while the permanent development was progressing.
Training delivered during this early stage included a machine-operator program developed in response to industry feedback and subsequently adapted for secondary school students. The permanent Hub will allow CCIC to broaden these training opportunities and further connect local manufacturers with students, researchers and training providers.
The organisation’s contribution reflects the long-term work regional development bodies often undertake before a major project reaches construction – identifying an economic opportunity, building partnerships, coordinating stakeholders and maintaining momentum through funding and delivery.
Sammut said the opening represented the culmination of years of work.
“The Hub represents years of vision, partnership and persistence, and is a major step forward for our $2 billion food and beverage manufacturing sector on the Central Coast.”
Central Coast Council also played an important role by making the Ourimbah land available through a long-term lease after plans for an earlier site at Lisarow fell through. Construction began in April 2025 and was completed by the end of March 2026.
Keeping growth and jobs in the region
Manufacturing generates approximately $4.8 billion in economic output on the Central Coast and employs about 9,000 people. Food manufacturing accounts for around $2 billion in output, making it one of the region’s most important industries.
The Coast is already home to major food and beverage manufacturers including Mars Food and Nutrition, Sanitarium and Sara Lee. The new Hub is intended to help the next generation of manufacturers grow alongside them.
Its significance extends beyond factory space. By bringing manufacturers, researchers, training providers, suppliers and industry experts together, the Hub can help businesses solve production problems, develop workforce capability, trial new technologies and bring products to market more efficiently.
CCIC Board Chair Ian Hemphill said the facility gave the organisation a permanent home and marked the beginning of a new phase for the sector.
“For Central Coast Industry Connect, the Hub is a physical home and the start of a new chapter for our industry partners and other stakeholders. Its success will be built on how well we turn collaboration into outcomes for the manufacturing sector and our community.”
RDACC CEO Dr Lisa Barnes said the Hub is proof positive that in regional New South Wales, collaboration is the key to getting things done for your region. “ We’re educating people, employing people, and creating innovative products, right here on the Coast.”
For the Central Coast, the larger opportunity is to retain more of the value created by its food and beverage sector within the region.
Giving smaller manufacturers a practical route from small-batch production to commercial scale could mean more products developed locally, more businesses expanding on the Coast and more skilled manufacturing jobs remaining in the community.
After more than a decade spent developing the vision, partnerships and business case behind the project, the doors are now open.
