Hickory Harvest Foods

What Hickory Harvest Foods does

Hickory Harvest Foods is a third-generation, family-owned snack food manufacturer founded in 1972 and headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company produces roasted and flavored nuts, chocolate- and yogurt-enrobed snacks, trail and snack mixes, and USDA Organic dried fruits and nuts, marketed under both its own Hickory Harvest brand and private label programs. Manufacturing is centralized at a state-of-the-art Akron facility that includes in-house nut roasting, panning, enrobing, hand-blending, and automated packaging with nitrogen flush, supported by SQF Level 2, USDA Organic, and OK Kosher certifications. The portfolio spans 250+ SKUs across four core product lines.

Revenue is generated through two parallel streams: private label manufacturing for grocery chains, mass merchandisers, wholesalers, distributors, repackers, convenience and travel stores, food service operators, and fundraising organizations; and branded Hickory Harvest sales through wholesalers, distributors, travel and gift shops, and grocery produce departments. Pricing is quote-based, structured around customer specifications, weight and cost targets, margin requirements, and retail targets, with multi-year contract cadences and 10-day lead times. Go-to-market is consultative and sales-led: the company walks private label customers through product trends, packaging development, and consumer data to co-select SKUs, while ingredients are sourced globally from India, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Turkey, and U.S. suppliers.

The business is led by President and CEO Joe Swiatkowski, who acquired full ownership in 2020, alongside a CFO (joined April 2025), VP of Sales (joined 2021 from Kraft-Heinz, Nabisco, and Snyder's-Lance), and VP of Human Resources. The company has historically reinvested internally (2009 facility build, 2017 17,000 sq ft expansion, 2006 acquisition of I.M. Good Snacks, 2014 American Confections Company chocolate partnership) and cites sustained double-digit annual revenue growth with inventory turns under one month, indicating a privately held, operationally scaled snack manufacturer positioned in the growing private label and better-for-you snack segments.

Name

Hickory Harvest Foods

Legal name

Hickory Harvest Foods, Inc.

Website

https://hickoryharvest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Hickory Harvest Foods is a third-generation, family-owned snack manufacturer in Akron, Ohio, producing 250+ roasted nut, chocolate, trail mix, and organic snack products for grocery, mass, convenience, food service, and private label customers across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Snack Food Manufacturing

NAICS

Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing (3114)

SIC

Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Nut & Dry Fruit Sorting/Grading & Packing Facilities (AFAOAGAL)

Keywords

• Private label snacks
• Roasted nut manufacturing
• Snack food packaging
• Trail mix production
• Organic dried fruits

Headquarters

HQ city

Akron

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Private Label Manufacturing: Manufacturing and packaging private label snack products for grocery stores, wholesalers, distributors, repackers, bulk food distributors, travel and convenience stores, mass merchandisers, food service, and fundraising organizations. Offers both private label and co-branding.
2. Hickory Harvest Brand Sales: Selling branded snack products under the Hickory Harvest brand through wholesalers, distributors, travel and gift shops, and grocery store produce departments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hickory Harvest Foods is a third-generation family-owned snack food manufacturer that produces and packages 250+ premium products — including roasted and flavored nuts, chocolates and yogurts, trail and snack mixes, and organic dried fruits — both under its own Hickory Harvest brand and through private label programs. The company provides end-to-end private label development services encompassing product trend consultation, custom flavor creation, in-house roasting/panning/enrobing, and flexible packaging options (nitrogen flush, stand-up pouches, single-serve containers).

Product overview

Hickory Harvest Foods operates as a third-generation family-owned snack food manufacturer offering 250+ premium products under its own Hickory Harvest brand and through private label programs. The product portfolio consists of four core product lines: Roasted & Flavored Nuts (50+ varieties as the signature product line), Chocolates & Yogurts (enrobed and panned items), Trail & Snack Mixes (30+ stock blends plus custom blending), and Organics & Dried Fruits (USDA Organic certified options). The company provides complementary private label and in-house packaging services, enabling customers to develop custom branded products with flexible lead times. All products are manufactured at the company's state-of-the-art Akron, Ohio facility using controlled processes including roasting, flavoring, panning, and enrobing capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Roasted & Flavored Nuts Signature product line of 50+ varieties of raw, roasted, and flavored nuts including macadamia, pistachios, seed mixes, butter toffee, BBQ, honey roasted, hot and spicy, sea salt and pepper, and smoked varieties, manufactured in-house with honey roasting and custom flavor creation available.
• Chocolates & Yogurts Chocolate and yogurt-coated snack items produced via in-house enrobing and panning capabilities, including pretzels, peanut butter pretzels, espresso beans, peanuts, peanut butter chocolaty peanuts, yogurt raisins, and flavored seasonal pretzels in 10 different coatings.
• Trail & Snack Mixes More than three dozen stock trail mixes including antioxidant blend, creme brûlée, omega 3 mix, peanut butter & jelly snack mix, and zesty party mix, plus custom blending and multi-pack single-serve options.
• Organics & Dried Fruits USDA Organic certified almonds, cashews, dried fruits, mountain mix, trail mix, seeds, walnuts, apricots, banana chips, cranberries, mango, papaya, pineapple, and raisins, available in low sugar and un-sulphured options.
• Private Label Manufacturing Private label product development service for grocery stores, wholesalers/distributors, repackers, bulk food distributors, travel/convenience stores, mass merchandisers, food service, and fundraising organizations, including product trend consultation, packaging development, consumer data analysis, and custom flavor creation.
• Packaging Services In-house packaging capabilities including nitrogen flush technology, resealable bags, stand-up pouches, single-serve containers, holiday trays, custom packaging, club packs, and point-of-purchase displays, with 10-day lead times.

Quantifiable outcome

• Double-digit annual growth sustained over multiple years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• American Confections CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Partnership established in 2014 for chocolate making operations, combining expertise to expand chocolate product capabilities.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Planters (Kraft Heinz): Iconic nut snack brand owned by Kraft Heinz with national distribution. A larger incumbent in the same category that competes with Hickory Harvest's branded business on shelf space and consumer mindshare.
• Blue Diamond Growers: Almond cooperative and snack manufacturer operating across branded (Blue Diamond, Almond Breeze), private label, and ingredients channels. A much larger incumbent overlapping with Hickory Harvest's nut roasting and private label capabilities.
• Wonderful Pistachios (The Wonderful Company): Vertically integrated pistachio grower and branded snack manufacturer with national retail presence. Comparable category and product overlap (flavored roasted nuts, snack mixes) but at significantly greater scale.

Direct peers

• John B. Sanfilippo & Son: Public nut and snack manufacturer with both branded (Fisher Nuts, Orchard Valley Harvest) and private label programs. Closest publicly comparable peer in terms of product mix (roasted nuts, trail mixes, dried fruit) and channel exposure (grocery private label and branded).
• Kar's Nuts: Mid-size nut and trail mix manufacturer selling both Kar's branded products and private label snacks into grocery, mass, and convenience channels — directly overlapping Hickory Harvest's core offering and customer base.
• Star Snacks Co. Private label nut and snack manufacturer serving grocery, club, and convenience channels. Comparable in size, private-label-led business model, and product portfolio (roasted/salted nuts, trail mixes, dried fruit).
• Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella: Vertically integrated pistachio grower and snack manufacturer with both branded Setton Farms products and a large private label business in nuts, trail mixes, and dried fruit — closely aligned with Hickory Harvest's private label + branded dual model.
• Hampton Farms: Peanut and nut snack processor with strong private label presence across grocery and convenience channels. Comparable in size and channel focus to Hickory Harvest's private label program.
• Terri Lynn: Family-owned nut snack manufacturer specializing in private label, fundraisers, and bulk food channels. Closely comparable customer mix (fundraising, grocery, mass) and product set (roasted nuts, trail mixes).

Emerging players

• Sahale Snacks: Premium branded nut and dried fruit snack mix brand now owned by Whole Foods/Amazon. Comparable product mix (glazed nuts, snack mixes) and overlapping premium grocery channel presence.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/joeknowsnuts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hickory-harvest-foods

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Hickory Harvest Foods