Chelan Fruit
Chelan Fruit is a Washington State grower-owned cooperative that packs and markets apples, pears, cherries, and organic fruit for member growers through four facilities, proprietary SugarBee and Dazzle apple brands, and core distribution partner CMI Orchards.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1921
- HeadquartersChelan, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Chelan Fruit does
Chelan Fruit (legal entity: Legendary Fruit - Chelan) is a grower-owned fruit packing and marketing cooperative headquartered in Chelan, Washington, operating for over 100 years since its founding in 1921. The cooperative packs and markets conventional apples, pears, cherries, and organic fruit on behalf of its member growers across Washington State. Operations are anchored by four facilities — Plant 1 and Plant 2 in Chelan, a plant in Okanogan, and the Beebe Plant 3 in Orondo — equipped with high-tech packing lines and state-of-the-art cold storage. Food safety is managed under a unified SQF Code (Safe Quality Food) program, certified since July 2007 and brought into SQF Edition 8 compliance across all growers in 2020.
The cooperative's product portfolio includes the proprietary SugarBee and Dazzle apple brands, which are grown exclusively by member growers under board-approved licensing, alongside conventional and organic apples, pears, and cherries. All commercial sales and distribution are handled through CMI Orchards, the cooperative's core marketing partner with global reach, while promotional content is produced in coordination with Chelan Fresh Marketing. Grower-facing operations are supported by a GrowerWeb portal, training programs, a grower forum, and integrations with third-party spray-record platforms (Agrian, ApRecs, MySprayRecords, WecoWrite).
The business model is a managed-services cooperative structure: member growers deliver fruit to Chelan Fruit, which packs, stores, and markets the fruit on their behalf, with the cooperative's stated mission to maximize grower returns. Headcount is reported in the 251–500 range, consistent with a multi-site seasonal packing operation. No revenue, funding, or external ownership is disclosed in the available data; the entity is privately held under grower-member ownership and has not pursued acquisition, IPO, or external fundraising activity based on available records.
Chelan Fruit firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Chelan Fruit
- Legal name
- Legendary Fruit - Chelan
- Website
- https://chelanfruit.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1921
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Chelan Fruit is a Washington State grower-owned cooperative that packs and markets apples, pears, cherries, and organic fruit for member growers through four facilities, proprietary SugarBee and Dazzle apple brands, and core distribution partner CMI Orchards.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Chelan Fruit is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chelan
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
Chelan Fruit business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Fruit Packing and Marketing Services: As a grower cooperative, Chelan Fruit earns revenue by packing and marketing fresh fruit (apples, pears, cherries, organics) on behalf of member growers. The cooperative's mission is to maximize profits to growers through high quality fresh fruit operations.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Chelan Fruit product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Chelan Fruit is a grower cooperative that provides packing, cold storage, and marketing services for fresh tree fruit—apples, pears, cherries, and organic fruit—produced by its member growers in Washington State. It operates multiple packing and storage facilities (Chelan, Okanogan, and the Beebe plant in Orondo) and manages branded proprietary varieties such as SugarBee and Dazzle apples alongside conventional and organic commodities.
Product overview
Chelan Fruit Cooperative is a grower-owned fruit packing and marketing organization operating multiple facilities in Washington State. The cooperative offers a portfolio of conventional and organic tree fruits (apples, pears, cherries) marketed through CMI Orchards, with proprietary branded varieties including SugarBee and Dazzle apples. The company provides services to member growers including packing, food safety certification, and access to the GrowerWeb grower portal.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- SugarBee Apples Proprietary, branded apple variety packed and marketed by Chelan Fruit; sold to retailers and produce buyers via affiliated sales channels.
- Dazzle Apples Proprietary branded apple variety packed and marketed by Chelan Fruit; positioned as a differentiated club apple SKU.
- Conventional Apples Bulk and retail-ready conventional apple SKUs packed for member-growers and marketed through cooperative and CMI Orchard channels.
- Pears Fresh pear SKUs packed, stored, and marketed by Chelan Fruit on behalf of member-growers in Washington State.
- Cherries Fresh sweet cherry SKUs packed, cold-stored, and marketed by Chelan Fruit on behalf of member-growers in Washington State.
- Organic Tree Fruit Organic-certified apples, pears, and cherries packed, stored, and marketed by Chelan Fruit for member-growers under organic production programs.
- Grower Packing & Marketing Service Core B2B service for member-growers: receiving, sorting, packing, cold-storage, and marketing of harvested tree fruit, including access to proprietary branded programs (SugarBee, Dazzle) and to the CMI Orchards sales channel.
Companies that use Chelan Fruit
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Chelan Fruit technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Chelan Fruit partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- CMI OrchardscoreCMI Orchards serves as the marketing partner for Chelan Fruit Cooperative, handling sales and distribution of packed fruit products to retailers and consumers.
- Chelan Fresh MarketingcoreMarketing partner that produces videos and promotional content for Chelan Fruit Cooperative. The partnership involves collaborative marketing efforts to promote Chelan Fresh products.
- International FarmingminorReferenced in quick links as an industry partner resource for agricultural information.
- Sage Fruit CompanyminorReferenced in quick links as an industry partner in the tree fruit business.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Chelan Fruit competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Stemilt Growers: Wenatchee, Washington-based grower-owned cooperative packing apples, pears, and cherries. Closely comparable in cooperative structure, regional concentration, and tree-fruit portfolio to Chelan Fruit.
- Borton Fruit: Yakima, Washington-based family-owned apple, pear, and cherry packer. Comparable mid-sized tree-fruit packing operation in the same regional market as Chelan Fruit.
- Sage Fruit Company: Yakima, Washington-based apple, pear, and cherry packer-marketer. Already referenced as a partner in Chelan Fruit's quick links, indicating direct industry overlap and a likely customer/competitor relationship.
- Zirkle Fruit Company: Yakima-based vertically integrated PNW apple, pear, and cherry grower-packer with branded programs (e.g., Cascade Crest). Comparable in scale, vertical integration, and product mix.
- Rainier Fruit Company: Selah, Washington-based vertically integrated grower-packer-marketer of apples, pears, and cherries. Comparable in scale, geography, and product mix to Chelan Fruit.
- CMI Orchards: Core marketing partner of Chelan Fruit, also a vertically integrated Pacific Northwest apple/pear/cherry packer-marketer with overlapping grower base and identical product categories. The most directly comparable peer given channel and product overlap.
- Honeybear Brands: Mid-sized PNW apple packer-marketer with proprietary branded programs (e.g., Pazazz, Honeybear). Comparable in branded apple strategy and PNW operating footprint.
- Domex Superfresh Growers: Yakima, Washington-based grower and packer/shipper of apples, pears, and cherries with similar Pacific Northwest footprint and multi-variety branded programs. Direct competitor for retailer shelf space.
- Washington Fruit & Produce Co. Yakima-based grower, packer, and shipper of apples, cherries, and pears with similar multi-decade operating history and Washington State geographic concentration. Direct competitive peer in PNW tree-fruit packing.
- FirstFruits Farms: Washington State-based apple and cherry grower-packer operating a large-scale packing facility. Comparable in vertically integrated PNW operations and product mix.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Chelan Fruit social profiles
Digital presenceChelan Fruit financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Chelan Fruit leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Chelan Fruit funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Chelan Fruit M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Chelan Fruit
What does Chelan Fruit do?
Chelan Fruit is a grower cooperative that provides packing, cold storage, and marketing services for fresh tree fruit—apples, pears, cherries, and organic fruit—produced by its member growers in Washington State. It operates multiple packing and storage facilities (Chelan, Okanogan, and the Beebe plant in Orondo) and manages branded proprietary varieties such as SugarBee and Dazzle apples alongside conventional and organic commodities.
Is Chelan Fruit a public or private company?
Chelan Fruit is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Chelan Fruit founded?
Chelan Fruit was founded in 1921. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Chelan Fruit based?
Chelan Fruit is headquartered in Chelan, United States, in the North America region.
How does Chelan Fruit make money?
One revenue line is on record: fruit Packing and Marketing Services.
Who are Chelan Fruit's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Stemilt Growers, Borton Fruit, Sage Fruit Company, Zirkle Fruit Company, Rainier Fruit Company, CMI Orchards, Honeybear Brands, Domex Superfresh Growers, Washington Fruit & Produce Co. and FirstFruits Farms.
Does Chelan Fruit have an API?
No public API is recorded for Chelan Fruit.