Consumer Products and Design

Overview

From baby bottles to furniture, product design firms are reinventing products and reconfiguring user experiences. A catalyst in this space is the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), which produces some of the best design talent in the world.

Rhode Island’s jewelry manufacturing industry is home to more than 400 companies engaged in all parts of the jewelry supply chain. Rhode Island is also the home of the Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America, which promotes the industry.

The state’s textile industry has transformed itself from old-world mills into innovative new product manufacturers creating high value-added products such as medical substrates and roofing materials for military vehicles.

Rhode Island culinary excellence is manifested in hundreds of food companies, manufacturing everything from coffee to seafood. We are also the home of Johnson and Wales University.

Rhode Island offers many advantages to consumer product companies. Our compact size and a diverse population of more than 1 million people makes Rhode Island an ideal location to test new products and new business models.

Rhode Island is ideally located on the Northeast’s Interstate 95 corridor, adjacent to the major metropolitan areas and large retail base located along the East Coast. Rhode Island is also tied into global transportation networks that move products by air, sea, rail and roadway.

Why Rhode Island?

RIEDC offers consumer goods sector companies a variety of support programs and services:

  • Real estate and site location services
  • Workforce development and training programs
  • Financial assistance through small business loan funds
  • Customized export assistance
  • A highly-skilled workforce
  • Manufacturing tax credit of up to 4 percent for new facilities and machinery and equipment used in the production process
  • High-performance manufacturer investment tax credit of up to 10 percent
  • Certain non-manufacturing companies are eligible for a 10 percent investment tax credit
  • Wholesale and retail inventories are exempt from local property tax


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