Gerber Poultry

What Gerber Poultry does

Gerber Poultry, Inc. is a privately held, third-generation family-owned poultry processor founded in 1952 in Kidron, Ohio, in the heart of Ohio's Amish Country. The company processes approximately 3 million chickens daily across roughly 150 family farms located within 50 miles of its headquarters, employing approximately 500 team members. Its product portfolio spans whole birds (Whole Fryer, Cutup Fryer, Rotisserie Whole Fryer), bone-in cuts (split breast, thighs, drumsticks, wings, party wings, leg quarters), boneless and skinless cuts (thin sliced, tenderized, stir fry, gourmet breast, tenders, thighs), three ground chicken variants, chicken burgers, and a four-SKU chicken sausage line (Breakfast, Bratwurst, Hot Italian, Sweet Italian).

The company's underlying production approach combines traditional Amish husbandry with a defined feed protocol (an all-vegetarian, antibiotic-free diet of corn and soybeans) and a processing facility certified to GFSI food safety standards. Chickens are chilled using an organic acid solution (citric acid and acetic acid) with peracetic acid (PAA) for pathogen control without residual chemical trace. The full operation, including hatchery, farm, live haul, and slaughter, is humane-certified by FACTA, an independent third-party auditing group, and additionally audited by a large customer's own humane certification team. GMO-free verification is conducted via independent accredited lab testing.

Gerber sells case-ready trays to local and regional grocery stores under the registered Gerber's Amish Farm Chicken brand and a marinated product line into the foodservice channel (notably Ohio Amish Country restaurants). Its primary customer segments are health-conscious families seeking premium, natural poultry and foodservice operators needing consistent quality. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is determined by retailers. The company maintains a single U.S. headquarters at 5889 Kidron Road, Kidron, Ohio, with distribution concentrated in Ohio and surrounding Midwestern states. In October 2024, it received $500,000 in funding from the Ohio Department of Development.

Name

Gerber Poultry

Legal name

Gerber Poultry, Inc.

Website

https://gerbers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1952

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Gerber Poultry is a third-generation, family-owned poultry processor in Ohio's Amish Country that processes approximately 3 million chickens daily across 150 family farms, selling case-ready fresh chicken and value-added products (sausages, burgers, ground chicken) to local grocery stores and foodservice operators under the Gerber's Amish Farm Chicken brand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fresh Poultry Processing

NAICS

Poultry Processing (311615)

SIC

Poultry Slaughtering And Processing (2015), Sausages & Other Prepared Meat Products (2013)

akta.pro primary industry

Broiler Processing (Whole Bird, Parts, Further Processing) (AFANACAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Primary Poultry Processing (Slaughtering, Evisceration & Chilling) (AFANACAA), Poultry Shops (CRAHAHAD)

Keywords

• Fresh poultry processing
• Chicken product manufacturing
• Farm raised chicken
• Retail poultry distribution
• Foodservice chicken supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Kidron

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Chicken Products: Sale of fresh chicken products through retail grocery stores and local markets. Products include whole birds, cut-up parts, boneless/skinless breasts and thighs, packaged in case-ready trays.
2. Foodservice Products: Marinated product line of whole and cut-up parts sold to the foodservice industry including restaurants.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Gerber Poultry processes and distributes fresh chicken products sourced from approximately 150 Amish family farms within 50 miles of its Kidron, Ohio headquarters. The company produces whole birds, cut-up parts, boneless/skinless cuts, ground chicken varieties, chicken burgers, and a line of Italian-style chicken sausages, selling case-ready trays to retail grocery stores and a separate marinated product line to the foodservice industry. All chickens are raised on an all-vegetarian, antibiotic-free diet, with humane certification and GFSI facility accreditation.

Product overview

Gerber's Amish Farm Chicken offers a comprehensive portfolio of fresh, premium poultry products sourced from Amish family farms in Ohio. The product line includes whole birds (Whole Fryer, Cutup Fryer, Rotisserie Whole Fryer), bone-in cuts (Fryer Split Breast, Fryer Thighs, Fryer Drumsticks, Fryer Wings, Fryer Party Wings, Fryer Leg Quarters), boneless skinless cuts (Thin Sliced, Tenderized, Stir Fry, Gourmet Boneless Skinless Fryer Breast, Boneless Skinless Fryer Thighs, Fryer Tenders), ground chicken varieties (Ground Chicken Blended, All White, All Dark), chicken burgers, and an Italian sausage line (Breakfast, Bratwurst, Hot Italian, Sweet Italian). All products are characterized by their all-vegetarian diet feeding, antibiotic-free raising practices, and humane certification.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Whole Fryer Whole chicken bird weighing 3-4 lbs, representing the company's flagship fresh whole poultry product sold through retail grocery stores.
• Cutup Fryer Whole chicken cut into 8 pieces: 2 drums, 2 thighs, 2 breasts, and 2 wings, packaged for retail sale.
• Rotisserie Whole Fryer Whole bird sized at 4 lbs and up, optimized for rotisserie cooking applications.
• Fryer Split Breast White meat breast with bones in and skin attached, sold as a bone-in cut for retail.
• Thin Sliced Boneless Skinless Fryer Breast Breast meat cut longways in half for a thinner piece of meat, reducing cooking times for consumers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% GMO-free verified through independent accredited lab testing
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bell & Evans: Premium Pennsylvania-based poultry processor specializing in 100% air-chilled, antibiotic-free, all-vegetarian-fed chicken sold through retail and foodservice. Most directly comparable to Gerber given shared natural/antibiotic-free positioning and similar scale.
• Murray's Chicken: Premium natural chicken brand sold through Whole Foods, FreshDirect and natural food retailers; comparable smaller-scale player in the all-natural, no-antibiotic fresh poultry category targeting similar health-conscious consumers.
• Plainville Farms: Upstate New York specialty poultry producer (turkey and chicken) emphasizing vegetarian diet, no antibiotics, and humane handling; directly comparable mid-size natural poultry player targeting regional natural foodservice and retail.

Regional players

• Eberly Chicken: Pennsylvania-based family-run poultry processor with similar heritage positioning, all-vegetarian feed, and Pennsylvania Dutch country branding; comparable scale and operating model in a neighboring regional market.

Emerging players

• Applegate Farms: Natural and organic processed meats company (now owned by Hormel) selling antibiotic-free chicken sausages, burgers, and deli meats through mainstream grocery; comparable in the further-processed natural poultry segment though larger and broader in protein categories.
• Organic Valley: Farmer-owned organic cooperative offering organic chicken alongside dairy and other proteins; comparable in the family-farm and organic/antibiotic-free positioning though active in additional protein categories.

Broad incumbents

• Perdue Farms: Large-scale poultry producer with established premium sub-brands (Perdue Harvestland, Coleman Organic) offering antibiotic-free and organic chicken; comparable natural-positioning products though at vastly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Foster Farms: Major West Coast poultry producer with antibiotic-free and organic product lines distributed through mainstream retailers; comparable in offering natural fresh chicken at retail scale but operates at much larger volume.
• Tyson Foods: Largest U.S. poultry producer with multiple premium, organic, and antibiotic-free sub-brands across retail and foodservice; competes in the same shelf and category though predominantly at commodity scale.
• Pilgrim's Pride: Major U.S. poultry processor with certified humane, antibiotic-free and organic product lines across retail and foodservice channels; provides scale benchmark and competitive pressure on regional premium players like Gerber.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pg/GerberPoultry
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gerber-poultry-inc.

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gerber Poultry