On Aug. 28 Gov. Gavin Newsom launched “Made in California,” a statewide labeling and marketing program that allows manufacturers — from salsa and beer makers to biotech firms — to apply for a state-backed label identifying products substantially made in the state.
The program, led by the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development and the California Office of the Small Business Advocate, is now accepting applications at madeincalifornia.ca.gov. Eligible manufacturers can use the label and program resources to strengthen visibility with consumers, buyers, retailers, investors and state and federal contractors. The state said fees are waived for eligible applicants for a limited time.
“From aerospace in Southern California to food processing in the Central Valley to semiconductors in the Bay Area — California makes just about everything,” Newsom said. “‘Made in California’ isn’t just a label. It’s a statement about innovation, opportunity and the people building the future right here in our state.”
For food and beverage manufacturers, the program adds a manufacturing-focused counterpart to the state’s longstanding CA Grown agricultural marketing program, giving processors and CPG makers a state seal aimed at helping them, in the state’s words, compete for shelf space, reach new customers and enter export markets.
Small manufacturers targeted
The state said small and mid-sized manufacturers stand to gain the most, as small manufacturers account for roughly 89 percent of California’s manufacturing firms but often lack the marketing infrastructure of larger companies.
“Manufacturing is not just part of California’s economy — it is one of the critical ways California tells its story,” said Dee Dee Myers, senior advisor to the governor and director of GO-Biz. “This program gives manufacturers an easily recognizable way to show where products are made, who makes them and why California production continues to set the standard across the nation.”
According to the governor’s office, California manufacturers produced $385 billion in economic output in 2025, about 9 percent of state GDP, and exported $159 billion in goods in 2024. The state’s 1.24 million manufacturing workers earn more than $25,000 above the average non-farm wage, and since 2021 the state has invested more than $215 million in training contracts covering more than 194,000 manufacturing workers.
California is the nation’s leading agricultural state and the world’s fourth-largest economy, with first-quarter 2026 output reaching an annualized $4.4 trillion.