Laoban, Seven Weeks Coffee among D.C. area's fastest-growing companies

By the numbers: Ashburn's Seven Weeks Coffee — an online venture that bills itself as "America's pro-life coffee company" and allocates funds to pregnancy centers —ranked No. 239 nationally, with 1,429% growth.

• D.C.-based frozen dumpling maker Laoban Foods landed at No. 300 with 1,146% growth, making the list for the third straight year.
• Bethesda's Just Ice Tea, co-founded by Honest Tea’s Seth Goldman and chef Spike Mendelsohn, ranked No. 598, with 583% growth.

Zoom in: For companies like Laoban, which started as a stall in Union Market, “the growth has been exponential,” co-founder chef Tim Ma tells Axios.

• Ma and co-founder Patrick Coyne went from driving around the Mid-Atlantic pitching their dumplings to grocery stores to landing the country’s largest retailers — including a coveted freezer door at Whole Foods — and working with manufacturers across the U.S. and Taiwan.

Zoom out: Other regional food businesses on the list include Arlington's Hungry Marketplace (No. 2,325) and South Block smoothie bar (No. 3,732), Gainesville's MightyMeals (No. 2,348) and Baltimore's Atlas Restaurant Group (No. 3,473), which is opening a Capitol Hill steakhouse next year.

The big picture: Food wasn't the region's biggest growth engine. Over 220 DMV companies made the list — down from 290 last year — with government contractors and other specialized organizations dominating the highest ranks.

• Government contractors Advanced Armor Research Group (Fredericksburg, No. 17) and Terrestris LLC (Woodbridge, No. 26) led the region.