Sunsweet

What Sunsweet does

Sunsweet Growers Inc. is a California-based, grower-owned agricultural cooperative founded in 1917 and headquartered in Yuba City, responsible for approximately 20% of global prune production. The company operates drying facilities and processing plants that transform California-grown plums supplied by member-growers into finished consumer products, including Amaz!n Prunes in multiple formats, Original Ones individually wrapped snacks, D'Noir Prunes, prune juice in 32oz, 48oz, and 64oz sizes plus a Light variant and an Elderberry blend, and a new PlumGood plum juice. The portfolio has been extended into functional foods via Probiotic+ Prunes and into adjacent dried-fruit and confection categories (Premium Mango, Mediterranean Apricots, Pitted Dates, Dark Chocolate French Kisses, Plum Sweets, gift baskets).

Revenue is generated primarily through consumer packaged goods sales priced roughly $4-$10 per unit on a pay-as-you-go basis. Sunsweet distributes through direct-to-consumer e-commerce on sunsweet.com, traditional grocery and mass retailers, natural food and club stores, regional international websites for the UK, Japan, Hong Kong, China, and Mexico, and a dedicated B2B food-service and ingredient business operating SunsweetIngredients.com and sunsweetfoodservice.com for commercial buyers such as bakers and food manufacturers seeking clean-label sugar reduction. As a cooperative, the company is owned by its member-growers rather than external investors, with governance through a regional Board of Directors and an executive team led by President and CEO Brad Schuler and CFO Cor van den Berg.

Marketing emphasizes digestive wellness, fiber benefits, and the prune-as-superfruit narrative, supported by a 300+ recipe library, a #FeelGood social campaign, and email and sampling programs. Customer concentration is low, with health-conscious consumers, fitness and wellness enthusiasts, and food manufacturers as the principal segments. Recent strategic activity has been weighted toward product-line innovation (Probiotic+, PlumGood, Elderberry), international brand maintenance, and executive bench-strengthening including a Chief Information & Analytics Officer role.

Name

Sunsweet

Legal name

Sunsweet Growers Inc.

Website

https://sunsweet.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1917

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Sunsweet Growers Inc. is a California-based grower-owned cooperative founded in 1917 producing approximately 20% of the world's prunes. It sells dried fruit, prune juice, and functional snack products through retail, DTC e-commerce, and food-service channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dried Fruit & Consumer Packaged Foods

NAICS

Noncitrus Fruit and Tree Nut Farming (11133)

SIC

Canned, Frozen & Preservd Fruit, Veg & Food Specialties (2030), Canned, Fruits, Veg, Preserves, Jams & Jellies (2033)

akta.pro primary industry

Stone Fruit Orchards (Peaches, Nectarines, Plums, Cherries, Apricots) (AFAGACAC)

Keywords

• Dried fruit products
• Prune juice
• Grower cooperative
• Consumer packaged foods
• Dried plums

Headquarters

HQ city

Yuba City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Consumer Product Sales: Sunsweet generates revenue through the sale of prune-based consumer packaged goods including dried prunes, prune juice, and dried fruit snacks sold through retail stores and direct e-commerce. As a grower-owned cooperative, member-growers supply the raw agricultural product while the company handles processing, marketing, and distribution.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sunsweet Growers is a grower-owned agricultural cooperative that processes and markets dried plum (prune) products. The company operates drying facilities and processing plants in California to transform fresh plums from owner-growers into finished consumer products including prunes, prune juice, dried fruit snacks, chocolate-covered confections, and ingredient products sold to food manufacturers.

Product overview

Sunsweet Growers is a grower-owned cooperative producing prunes and dried fruits, responsible for approximately 20% of global prune production. The company operates as a single-brand consumer packaged goods business with a unified product portfolio centered on prune-based foods and beverages. The core offerings include Amaz!n Prunes in multiple formats (pitted, bite-size, value packs), Original Ones individually wrapped snacks, and prune juices in various sizes (32oz, 48oz, 64oz) plus a Light variant. The portfolio has expanded to include functional products like Probiotic+ Prunes and Amaz!n Prune with Elderberry, plus a new PlumGood plum juice. Adjacent categories include dried fruits (Premium Mango, Mediterranean Apricots, Pitted Dates) and chocolate-covered confections (Dark Chocolate French Kisses, Plum Sweets). Products are positioned around digestive wellness, fiber benefits, and general health, supported by a comprehensive recipe database.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Amaz!n Prunes (Pitted, Canister, Pouch, Value Pack, Bite Size) Whole pitted prunes sold in various packaging formats (canister, pouch, value pack) and bite-size variants, positioned as a fiber-rich, convenient snack for health-conscious consumers.
• Original Ones Individually wrapped prunes for on-the-go snacking, with 20 calories per serving, designed for lunchboxes and portable consumption.
• D'Noir Prunes A dark-colored prune variety offered as part of Sunsweet's core prune line.
• Amaz!n Prune Juice (32oz, 48oz, 64oz) 100% pure prune juice containing 4g of fiber and 5 essential nutrients per serving, supporting digestive health, sold in 32oz, 48oz, and 64oz formats.
• Amaz!n Prune Juice Light Lower-calorie variant of the prune juice offering for consumers seeking reduced-calorie options.
• Amaz!n Prune with Elderberry Prune juice blended with elderberry, positioned as a family-friendly juice option.
• PlumGood A plum-based juice blend with a sweet and tangy flavor profile, marketed as a new product in the Sunsweet beverage lineup.
• Sunsweet Probiotic+ Prunes Prunes infused with probiotics, supporting gut health and digestive wellness in the functional foods category.
• Premium Mango Dried mango slices sold in a 5oz package as part of Sunsweet's dried-fruit lineup.
• Mediterranean Apricots Dried apricots sourced from Mediterranean regions, sold as part of the Sunsweet dried-fruit lineup.
• Pitted Dates Ready-to-use pitted dates marketed as a versatile ingredient for baking, salads, and snacking.
• Amaz!n Prune Fruit Pack Pre-portioned snack packs containing individually wrapped prunes, designed for lunchboxes and on-the-go consumption.
• Dark Chocolate French Kisses Chocolate-covered prune pieces marketed as a premium confection.
• Plum Sweets Chocolate-covered plum-based confectionery product.
• Sunsweet Favorites Gift Basket Pre-curated gift basket featuring a selection of Sunsweet products for gifting occasions.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 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 moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Welch's: Welch's is a grower-owned cooperative that produces grape-based juices, jams, and snacks. Its cooperative model, fruit-based juice portfolio, and heritage brand make it structurally and strategically comparable to Sunsweet.
• Sun-Maid Growers of California: Sun-Maid is a California-based grower-owned cooperative that produces and markets dried fruits (primarily raisins) under a similarly iconic, century-old brand. Its cooperative structure, vertical integration, and CPG dried-fruit portfolio make it the closest analogue to Sunsweet.
• Ocean Spray Cranberries: Ocean Spray is a grower-owned agricultural cooperative marketing cranberry and grapefruit products globally. It mirrors Sunsweet's cooperative ownership model, branded CPG positioning, and multi-region juice/snack portfolio.
• Mariani Packing Company: Mariani is a privately held California dried fruit producer and packer with a long heritage in prunes, raisins, apricots, and dates. It directly competes with Sunsweet across the prune and dried-fruit category.
• National Raisin Company: National Raisin is a grower-owned California cooperative producing raisins and other dried fruits. It is a structural twin to Sunsweet in cooperative ownership, agricultural base, and dried-fruit processing.
• Traina Foods: Traina Foods is a California-based producer of sun-dried fruits, including prunes, apricots, and tomatoes, supplying both retail and foodservice. It directly overlaps with Sunsweet in the dried-fruit and ingredient space.
• Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds (Wonderful Orchards / The Wonderful Company): Wonderful is a vertically integrated, California-based grower and marketer of pistachios, almonds, and other tree nuts and fruits. Its vertically integrated grower-to-shelf model and California agriculture base directly parallel Sunsweet's cooperative supply chain.

Broad incumbents

• Del Monte Foods: Del Monte is a large, established packaged fruit and vegetable company with canned, jarred, and dried fruit products. It competes with Sunsweet on retail shelf space and foodservice ingredient contracts, though it spans a much broader fruit portfolio.
• Diamond Foods (now part of The Wonderful Company / Saputo snack nuts): Diamond Foods historically marketed branded nuts and fruit/nut snacks at scale in US grocery. It competed with Sunsweet in the dried-fruit/snack aisle and serves similar retail and foodservice customers.

Regional players

• Stemilt Growers: Stemilt is a vertically integrated Washington-state grower and marketer of apples, pears, cherries, and stone fruit, with a heritage in branded fresh and dried fruit. It overlaps with Sunsweet in dried-fruit processing and stone-fruit supply.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SunsweetGrowers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Sunsweet