In October 2023, the governor of California signed The California Food Safety Act, which became known as the “Skittles Ban.” While the law doesn’t ban Skittles specifically, the bill proposed banning four food chemicals known to increase cancer risk, hyperactivity in children, thyroid and liver problems and more.1 Candy and sweets manufacturers weren’t too happy about the bill’s passing because it would mean changing the recipe of popular foods and meeting new regulatory standards if they wanted to sell their products in the most populous state of the United States.

Changing regulations aren’t the only scenario Food & Beverage manufacturers are forced to face. A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report indicates that around 750,000 jobs are unfilled in the manufacturing sector as unemployment rates hover at historically low levels — this is only expected to get worse as some estimates predict over two million unfilled manufacturing jobs by the end of the decade.