Sunripe Certified Brands

What Sunripe Certified Brands does

Sunripe Certified Brands is a fourth-generation, family-owned fresh tomato producer headquartered in Palmetto, Florida, operating approximately 20,000 acres of farmland across the United States and Mexico. The company produces grape, cherry, medley, roma, vine-ripe, and field-grown slicer tomatoes on a year-round, 365-day basis and rebranded from Pacific Tomato Growers to Sunripe Certified Brands in 2015 to consolidate its subsidiaries under a unified corporate identity. Its operations span three entities: Pacific Tomato Growers (cultivation), Smoky Mountain Family Farms (Tennessee production added via the 2021 Triple C Family Farms acquisition), and Sunripe Certified Repack (value-added repacking). The company employs 800+ people and is led by CEO Jon Esformes, a fourth-generation operator.

Sunripe's products carry multiple food-safety and quality certifications, including PrimusGFS, QCS, Eleven Rivers Growers, and Non-GMO Project Verified, and the company participates in FDA FSMA advisory work. Its core technology and operational infrastructure include in-house tomato breeding, integrated pest management, in-house composting, and water management systems, alongside warehousing in Florida, Arizona, Texas, and Tennessee to support coast-to-coast North American delivery and a direct LTL delivery capability.

The business model is built on large-scale field production, integrated packinghouse operations, and multi-channel wholesale distribution into retail grocery chains, foodservice operators, and wholesale distributors. Revenue is generated through unit-based pricing of fresh and repacked tomatoes across these three channels, with geographic and seasonal diversification provided by Florida, Arizona, Texas, Tennessee, and Mexican growing regions. Vertical integration across genetics, inputs, and logistics is intended to compress unit costs and stabilize supply for risk-averse retail and foodservice buyers.

Name

Sunripe Certified Brands

Legal name

Sunripe Certified Brands

Website

https://sunripecertified.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1920

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Sunripe Certified Brands is a fourth-generation, family-owned producer of fresh tomatoes operating approximately 20,000 acres across the US and Mexico. The company supplies year-round grape, cherry, roma, and slicer tomatoes to retail grocery, foodservice, and wholesale distribution channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Palmetto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fresh Produce Sales: Sunripe Certified Brands grows and sells tomatoes (grape, cherry, medley, Roma, vine ripe, field grown slicers) to customers across North America. The company operates on a B2B wholesale model, selling fresh produce in various pack sizes (25# bulk, 10#, 20#, clamshell packs, club packs, custom sizes) to retailers, foodservice operators, and other produce distributors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sunripe Certified Brands grows, harvests, packages, and distributes a comprehensive line of fresh tomato varieties (grape, cherry, medley, Roma, vine ripe, and field grown slicers) to retailers, foodservice operators, and wholesale distributors across North America. The company controls nearly 20,000 acres of farmland across the U.S. (Florida, Arizona, Texas, Tennessee) and Mexico, enabling year-round, coast-to-coast supply. They also offer transportation (LTL) delivery services to major metropolitan areas east of the Mississippi River.

Product overview

Sunripe Certified Brands is a fourth-generation family-owned tomato grower offering an extensive line of tomato varieties. Their core product portfolio includes Grape Tomatoes (conventional and organic), Cherry Tomatoes, Roma Tomatoes, Vine Ripe Tomatoes, Field Grown Slicers, and Medley Tomatoes. All products are Non-GMO Project Verified. The company provides year-round supply through growing operations on both the East and West coasts of the United States and in Mexico. They also offer transportation services with reliable LTL deliveries to major metropolitan areas east of the Mississippi.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pacific Tomato Growers: A subsidiary and operating brand of Sunripe Certified Brands focusing on tomato growing operations.
• Smoky Mountain Family Farms

Products and services

• Grape Tomatoes Conventional and organic snacking grape tomatoes available year-round in multiple pack sizes for both foodservice operators and retail consumers.
• Cherry Tomatoes Fresh cherry tomatoes available year-round in 10# and 20# bulk and 12/1 pint clamshell pack sizes, with custom pack sizes available on request.
• Roma Tomatoes Fresh Roma tomatoes available in club pack sizes, serving wholesale and retail customers across North America.
• Vine Ripe Tomatoes Fresh vine ripe tomatoes available year-round in 25# bulk, 25# row pack in all sizes, and two-layer flats sourced from Florida, Tennessee, and Mexico.
• Field Grown Slicers Field grown slicer tomatoes available year-round in 25# bulk with custom pack sizes available on request.
• Medley Tomatoes Fresh medley tomatoes available year-round in 8/1# pack sizes, sourced fresh from Florida, with custom pack sizes available.
• Transportation Services (LTL Delivery) Reliable Less Than Truckload (LTL) delivery services to major metropolitan areas east of the Mississippi River, supporting customer distribution needs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% hand-picked products
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Smoky Mountain Family FarmscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Partnership with Smoky Mountain Family Farms. In March 2021, Smoky Mountain Family Farms acquired Triple C Family Farms. Sunripe works with Smoky Mountain for growing operations, particularly in Tennessee.
• Pete Pappas & SonscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2020Partnership announced in February 2020 with Pete Pappas & Sons and Smoky Mountain Family Farms for tomato growing and distribution operations.
• Coalition of Immokalee WorkerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSunripe partners with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to combat health and safety violations within the agricultural industry. The company publicly advocates for human rights issues and proactively partners with like-minded organizations to create a safer, fairer workplace.
• Fair Food ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the Fair Food Program to ensure worker safety and fair treatment. Sunripe participates in this worker-driven social responsibility program that has helped create America's strongest workplace heat rules.
• Eleven Rivers GrowerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEleven Rivers Growers certification partner providing sustainable and socially responsible growing standards. Sunripe achieved 100% Eleven Rivers certification in Mexico operations. They also hold Distinctivo Eleven Rivers Growers certification.
• Non-GMO ProjectminorOthersNon-GMO Project Verified certification partner. Sunripe Certified Brands is committed to consumer transparency and is Non-GMO Project Verified (Brand ID: 10050).
• Lineage LogisticsminorOthersCold storage warehouse partnership at McAllen, Texas location. Lineage Logistics provides temperature-controlled storage and distribution services.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Fresh Del Monte Produce: Vertically integrated global producer, distributor, and marketer of fresh produce including tomatoes and berries. Competes broadly across retail and foodservice channels with similar year-round, multi-region sourcing capabilities.
• Taylor Farms: Major fresh produce processor and supplier (salads, vegetables, fresh-cut) serving retail and foodservice nationally. Comparable in foodservice orientation, multi-region sourcing, and integrated growing/processing operations.
• Driscoll's: The dominant branded berry (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry) supplier in North America. Highly comparable as a large-scale, multi-region, sustainability-certified grower supplying national retailers — relevant given Sunripe's stated strawberry operations.
• Dole Food Company: Global fresh produce major with broad category coverage including tomatoes and berries. Competes with Sunripe for retailer shelf space across multiple produce categories and brings significant scale, brand, and distribution advantages.
• Bonduel Group (Agrico / Greenyard): European-rooted global produce supplier with deep retail and foodservice relationships and broad fresh and prepared vegetable offerings. Comparable as a multi-category, certified, year-round fresh produce supplier competing for the same global retail customers.

Regional players

• Costa Group: Australia's largest horticultural producer with significant tomato, berry, and mushroom operations. Comparable business model (large-scale protected and field crop production with proprietary breeding) but primarily serves the Australian and Asian markets.

Direct peers

• Lipman Family Farms: One of the largest open-field tomato growers in North America, with operations in Florida, Virginia, Mexico, and other regions. Closely comparable field-grown tomato model, multi-region sourcing, and broad retail/foodservice distribution.
• NatureSweet: Vertically integrated greenhouse grower of snacking tomatoes (Cherubs, Glorys) and other produce sold through major US retailers. Comparable in product format (snacking/grape/cherry tomatoes), retail channel focus, and emphasis on sustainability and worker welfare certifications.
• Pero Family Farms: Multi-generational family-owned grower specializing in vegetables including tomatoes, with Florida and East Coast operations. Closely comparable as a family-run, field-grown vegetable specialist serving the same retail and foodservice channels.
• Mastronardi Produce (Sunset): One of North America's largest greenhouse tomato growers (Sunset, Campari, Kumato brands) supplying retailers year-round. Direct competitor to Sunripe in tomatoes with overlapping retail and foodservice customers and a comparable multi-region supply footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sunripeproduce
• Facebookfacebook.com/Sunripetomatoes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sunripe-certified-brands

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries3 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 Sunripe Certified Brands