High-pressure processing, co-manufacturing, packaging, and cold-chain support - built to reduce handoffs from concept to shelf
Food and beverage brands need products that are safe, fresh, consistent, and scalable. They also need a production path that does not split manufacturing, high-pressure processing, packaging, and distribution support across disconnected providers.
APC helps brands move from product idea to production-ready, HPP-treated, retail-ready product through an integrated model designed for refrigerated, clean-label foods. We support product development, premium food manufacturing, high-pressure pasteurization, post-HPP packaging and assembly, food safety documentation, and cold-chain coordination from a single operational partner.
High-pressure processing uses cold water pressure rather than high heat to inactivate harmful pathogens. Because the product is processed after it is sealed in its package, HPP can provide a validated food-safety step while helping preserve the taste, texture, color, and nutritional qualities that distinguish fresh and minimally processed foods.
Depending on the product and its validated process, HPP can:
APC manufactures applicable refrigerated, ready-to-eat, specialty, and clean-label products in Milwaukee and Sacramento. Manufacturing programs are built around the product’s formulation, package format, regulatory requirements, volume, and intended HPP process.
APC was the first company in the United States to offer HPP on a commercial tolling basis. HPP is available for products manufactured by APC and as a per-pound service for products made elsewhere.
After HPP, APC can provide date coding, barcode application, package inspection, metal detection, sleeving, lidding, tamper banding, cartoning, palletizing, pack-off, and other finishing work needed for retail or foodservice distribution.
APC’s Innovation Center gives product-development teams access to a commercial test kitchen and operating HPP equipment in the same location.
Formulations, packaging, labels, pressure, hold times, and other relevant variables can be evaluated and adjusted before commercial production.
APC began in Milwaukee in 2004 with a single HPP system and a focused purpose: use pressure-based pasteurization to make refrigerated foods safer without compromising the qualities that make them worth buying fresh.
Since then, APC has expanded HPP capacity, added premium food manufacturing and post-process packaging, opened a West Coast facility, and built an Innovation Center for product development and packaging evaluation. Much of the team responsible for APC’s operations has been here for many years, bringing the practical knowledge that comes only from solving formulation, packaging, validation, scheduling, and production problems across thousands of products.
APC is a founding member of the Cold Pressure Council, and both production facilities are SQF certified. USDA Organic certification is available for applicable product categories.
APC works with companies at different stages of product development and growth:
developing a first refrigerated product or preparing for an initial commercial run
expanding volume, entering new channels, or reducing the number of partners involved in manufacturing and HPP
testing formulations, packaging, HPP suitability, and refrigerated shelf-life targets
or trying to reduce synthetic preservatives without sacrificing safety or quality
that require a documented HPP process and stronger production controls
Most product-development programs involve a gap between where the product is developed and where it is processed. Samples are prepared in one facility, shipped to an HPP provider, processed, returned, and evaluated days or weeks later.
APC’s Innovation Center closes that gap. Product-development teams can prepare a formulation, run it through commercial HPP equipment, and evaluate the result during the same working session. Packaging, label performance, sensory qualities, and processing variables can be adjusted before those decisions become expensive to change.
Tell us what you are making, how it is packaged, where the project stands, and whether you need manufacturing, HPP, packaging, product-development, or logistics support.
