Babé Farms

What Babé Farms does

Babé Farms is a privately held, family-owned grower and shipper of specialty vegetables headquartered at 1485 N Blosser Rd, Santa Maria, California, founded in 1986 by Wilbur (Will) Souza together with founding partners Frank and Judy Lundberg and Greg and Cherrie Pedigo. The company pioneered the introduction of packaged European salad mixes, hand-selected specialty greens, and colorful baby vegetables to the United States and Canada, and currently produces over 70 varieties of gourmet vegetables across baby head lettuces, cruciferous, baby root vegetables, specialty greens, aromatics, and seasonal specialties, with nearly 600 customized pack options. Operations are vertically integrated through wholly owned subsidiary BFI Harvesting Inc., which provides year-round custom harvesting in the Santa Maria Valley, and a partner grower network in South Baja, Mexico used to maintain consistent supply and quality for climate-sensitive or seasonal crops.

The company sells B2B through wholesale produce distributors, the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market (with FOB pickup from its Santa Maria facility or delivery Sunday through Friday nights subject to a 50-case minimum), local produce distributors serving foodservice operators (chefs, restaurants, and catering), and fine retailers. Branded retail exposure is concentrated through the Coastal Valley Farms sub-brand, which is CCOF-certified organic and supplies Organic Spring Mix and Baby Spinach to most Southern California Costco locations. Technology and food-safety programs include Carbon Robotics Laser Weeder deployment, a PrimusGFS-audited food safety program with monthly third-party irrigation water testing, California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement participation, an Integrated Pest Management program, and approximately 100 acres of CCOF-certified organic production using compost, cover cropping, crop rotation, and drip irrigation. The current ownership group consists of original founder Judy Lundberg-Wafer (Chairman of the Board) and her son Jeff Lundberg (President/CEO since early 2014); Luis Ramirez serves as Food Safety Director.

Revenue is generated through quote-based B2B pricing on a pay-as-you-go basis, with no publicly disclosed financial information, no external investors, and no parent company. The firm markets through social media (Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube), the Crop Talk newsletter and blog, recipe videos, industry events including IFPA Foodservice, IFPA Global Expo, New York Produce Show, FPFC Harvest Forum, and Santa Barbara County Farm Day, and earned media in industry publications.

Name

Babé Farms

Legal name

Babé Farms

Website

https://babefarms.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Babé Farms is a family-owned, Santa Maria, California-based grower and shipper founded in 1986 that cultivates over 70 specialty vegetable varieties across baby lettuces, cruciferous, roots, and greens for wholesale distributors, foodservice operators, fine retailers, and Costco via its Coastal Valley Farms organic sub-brand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Vegetables

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Leafy Greens & Salad Processing Packhouses (Fresh-Cut) (AFAOAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Root & Tuber Vegetable Farming (Carrots, Beets, Radish, Turnip, Sweet Potato) (AFAGADAC)

Keywords

• Specialty vegetable farming
• Baby vegetables
• Gourmet greens
• Organic produce
• Produce distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Maria

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Specialty Vegetable Sales: B2B sales of specialty vegetables including baby lettuces, gourmet greens, baby root vegetables, and seasonal specialties to distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and foodservice operators. Offers nearly 600 customized pack options.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Babé Farms is a family-owned grower and shipper of specialty vegetables based in Santa Maria, California. The company cultivates over 70 varieties of baby lettuces, gourmet greens, baby root vegetables, and seasonal specialties, offering nearly 600 customized pack options to wholesale distributors, fine retailers, foodservice operators, and retail channels. It operates a year-round production model under its own Babé Farms label and a certified-organic Coastal Valley Farms sub-brand.

Product overview

Babé Farms is a specialty vegetable company offering over 70 varieties of gourmet vegetables including baby head lettuce (Baby Butter Cakes, Jenjoi, Pink Rhône Little Gem), cruciferous, root vegetables, specialty greens, aromatics, and seasonal specialties. The company operates nearly 600 customized pack options for chefs and retailers. Coastal Valley Farms serves as the organic sub-brand certified by CCOF, offering organic spring mix, baby spinach, and bunched kales. BFI Harvesting provides custom harvesting services. The company ships year-round from Santa Maria, California with delivery to Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market and FOB pickup options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Baby Head Lettuce Miniature head lettuce varieties including Baby Butter Cakes, Jenjoi, and Pink Rhône Little Gem lettuces, designed for fine dining and retail presentations.
• Cruciferous
• Roots
• Specialty Greens
• Seasonal Specialties
• Aromatics
• Coastal Valley Farms (Organic Sub-brand) Certified organic produce brand offering bunched kales, baby spinach, spring mix, and more. CCOF-certified organic and available at Southern California Costco locations.
• BFI Harvesting Inc.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70+ specialty vegetable varieties and nearly 600 customized pack options
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 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

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Carbon RoboticscoreTechnology or Integration · 24 June 2026Carbon Robotics Laser Weeder technology partnership for advanced weed control using laser technology. Featured in company video demonstrating laser weeding operations for maximum quality crop production.
• Veggie RescueminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Veggie Rescue to fight food waste by redirecting edible produce that would otherwise go to waste to those in need.
• Southern California Costco LocationscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCoastal Valley Farms Organic Spring Mix and Baby Spinach distributed through Costco retail locations across Southern California, representing a significant retail channel partnership.
• CCOFcoreOthersCertified organic by CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers), the organic certification body for Coastal Valley Farms organic production.
• PrimusGFScoreOthersIndependently audited under PrimusGFS standard for food safety certification, including IPM program certification and comprehensive food safety oversight.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Dole plc: Diversified global fresh-produce major with packaged salads, vegetables, and fresh fruit. Overlaps with Babé Farms on fresh-cut salad and vegetable packs at U.S. retail including club and grocery channels.
• Bonduelle: Global fresh and processed vegetable specialist that owns Ready Pac Foods in North America. Competes with Babé Farms in fresh-cut salads and bagged specialty vegetables across U.S. retail and foodservice.
• Fresh Express: Largest U.S. bagged-salad and fresh-cut vegetable brand, owned by Chiquita. Competes with Babé Farms' Coastal Valley Farms spring mix at the same retailers (including Costco) but at vastly greater scale across a national processing footprint.
• Grimmway Farms: California-headquartered grower of carrots, leafy greens, and other organic/specialty vegetables sold through retail and foodservice. Broad incumbent competitor to Babé in organic acreage and value-added vegetable packs.

Emerging players

• Organic Girl: Specialty organic greens and salad brand now under Taylor Farms. Comparable niche position to Babé's Coastal Valley Farms sub-brand with overlapping premium retail customer base.

Direct peers

• Tanimura & Antle: California-based, family-influenced grower-packer-shipper of specialty leafy greens, romaine, and value-added vegetables for foodservice and retail. Closest structural analog to Babé Farms in business model, customer mix (foodservice plus national retailers), and California-centric supply chain.
• Earthbound Farm: Organic salad greens, vegetables, and fresh-cut produce pioneer now operating as part of Taylor Farms. Comparable to Babé Farms in pioneering organic/specialty categories and serving retailers like Costco with spring mix, spinach, and baby greens.
• Taylor Farms: National fresh-cut salad, vegetable, and foodservice produce platform that owns Earthbound Farm and Organic Girl. Direct competitor to Babé Farms in fresh-cut leafy greens, retail bagged salads, and foodservice vegetable packs across the U.S. and Canada.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BabeFarms
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC4v3Kiu0nSSi21UMlYOVgVA
• Facebookfacebook.com/BabeFarms
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/babe-farms
• Instagraminstagram.com/babe_farms

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Babé Farms