Nash Produce

What Nash Produce does

Nash Produce, Inc. is a vertically integrated producer, processor, and distributor of sweet potatoes and pickling cucumbers headquartered in Nashville, North Carolina. The company was formed in 2006 when a group of experienced tobacco and sweet potato farmers acquired Dale Bone Farms, the largest cucumber shed on the East Coast, and reorganized it as a regional produce distribution platform. Operations are anchored by a 92-acre facility at 3500 Sandy Cross Road featuring more than 2.3 million bushels of on-site climate-controlled sweet potato storage (3.2 million bushels including off-site capacity), enabling year-round, 365-day supply. The processing line incorporates a Hagan 6 Lane Electronic Sizer, five Giro sweet potato bagging machines, a Jaza vertical form-and-fill bagger, a multi-load hydro-cooler, a microwave shrink-wrap machine, and a high-volume icemaker.

Nash Produce sells consumer-facing products under its Mr. Yam brand across multiple SKUs—mesh bags (2lb, 3lb, 5lb), 1.5lb Steamable Sweets, USDA Organic, Individual Microwave sweet potatoes, 4-count Tray Packs, and bulk boxed products—and offers private label and custom retail display services. Revenue is generated through a B2B enterprise field-sales model with dedicated domestic (Randi Ricks) and international (Don Sparks) sales teams serving retail grocery, food service (restaurants, schools, hospitals), and processor (food manufacturer) customers; the company operates its own freight logistics function with 6 OTR tractors, 6 loading bays, on-site dispatch, and an electronic truck scale capable of handling 50 tractor-trailers daily at peak. Sourcing is supported by long-term grower partnerships, notably with fourth-generation RJ Hinnant & Sons Farms (Kenly, NC, ~5,000 acres) and Leggett Farming Partnership (Nashville, NC, sweet potato seed and micro-propagation), with the network spanning a 120-mile radius.

The company is privately held, family-led by President Thomas Joyner and Vice President Richard Joyner, with no disclosed venture capital or institutional ownership, no funding rounds, and no disclosed revenue. Revenue mechanics are unit-pricing on shipped volume with private label and freight (delivered or FOB) options, and pricing is quoted via direct contact with the sales team rather than publicly listed.

Name

Nash Produce

Legal name

Nash Produce Inc

Website

https://nashproduce.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Nash Produce is a vertically integrated producer, processor, and distributor of sweet potatoes and pickling cucumbers based in Nashville, North Carolina, operating a 92-acre facility with 2.3 million bushels of climate-controlled storage. It supplies retail grocery, food service, and food processor customers domestically and internationally under its Mr. Yam brand and private label programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fresh Produce Distribution

NAICS

Potato Farming (111211)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000), Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Wholesale-Farm Product Raw Materials (5150)

akta.pro primary industry

Fresh Cut / Value-Added Produce Wholesale (Pre-Cut, Packaged, Salad Kits) (AFAIACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fresh Produce Distribution (CRAOABAB), Fresh-Cut & Value-Added Produce (Washed, Peeled, Sliced, Packaged) (AFAKAFAA)

Keywords

• Sweet potato production
• Fresh produce distribution
• Pickling cucumber supply
• Private label packaging
• Produce freight logistics

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Produce Sales: Primary revenue from growing, storing, processing, and distributing sweet potatoes and cucumbers to retail, food service, and processor customers. Products are sold in various packaging formats including mesh bags (2lb, 3lb, 5lb), tray packs, steamable bags, and bulk boxed products. The company also offers private label and custom packaging services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Nash Produce grows, processes, packages, and distributes sweet potatoes and pickling cucumbers sold under the Mr. Yam brand and as private label. Products are offered in multiple formats including mesh bags (2lb, 3lb, 5lb), steamable microwave bags, single-serve microwave potatoes, 4-count tray packs, bulk boxes, and USDA Organic variants, supplied year-round to retail, food service, and food processor customers in the U.S. and internationally.

Product overview

Nash Produce is an agricultural produce distribution company offering a portfolio of sweet potato products under the Mr. Yam brand, complemented by private label and custom packaging services. The core product line includes mesh bagged sweet potatoes (2lb-5lb), steamable sweets, organic sweet potatoes, individual microwaveable potatoes, tray packs, and bulk boxed products. These are supported by value-added services including packing and production (utilizing equipment such as electronic sizers, bagging machines, and hydro-coolers) and freight logistics (with 6 OTR tractors, loading bays, and dispatch services). Private label and custom retail display options are available across all product lines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mr. Yam: Brand name for bagged sweet potatoes, steamable sweets, organic sweet potatoes, individual microwave sweet potatoes, tray packs, and boxed bulk sweet potato products.

Products and services

• Mr. Yam Sweet Potatoes

Quantifiable outcome

• Year-round product availability 365 days through storage and growing network
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Leggett Farming PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006First-generation family farm based in Nashville, North Carolina, founded in 2005. Grows tobacco, sweet potatoes, cotton, soybeans, peanuts, and strawberries. Produces NC Certified Sweet Potato Seed including Generation 1 and 2 seed and plants from their micro-propagation operation. Custom raises tobacco and sweet potato transplants for other farmers and does custom harvesting. Brent and Sue Leggett operate the farm with their sons Colin and Carter.
• RJ Hinnant & Sons FarmscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1976Fourth-generation farming operation located in Kenly, North Carolina, started in 1976. Currently has three generations working in the family operation. Grows sweet potatoes, squash, zucchini, and cucumbers on approximately 5,000 acres. The grandparents David and Vickie work alongside their son Clay and his wife Jessie, with grandchildren Ross, Kate, Sloane, and Vann also active participants. Nash Produce is proud to have this dependable family partner providing quality sweet potatoes to customers around the world.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Lamb Weston: Major frozen potato and sweet potato processor supplying foodservice and retail; competes for processor-customer wallet share and increasingly overlaps in value-added sweet potato formats.

Direct peers

• Wada Farms Marketing: Major U.S. potato and sweet potato grower-packer-shipper headquartered in Idaho with similar year-round storage and packing operations for retail and foodservice customers.
• Scott Farms: North Carolina-based sweet potato grower, packer, and shipper serving retail and foodservice markets with overlapping customer base in the Eastern U.S.
• Wayne E. Bailey Produce Company: North Carolina-based sweet potato grower/packer/shipper, historically one of the larger U.S. sweet potato operations, with comparable product mix and retail/foodservice distribution.
• Burch Farms / F&S Produce: North Carolina sweet potato producer and packer supplying retail and foodservice customers, similar crop focus and grower-packer business model.
• Ham Produce / Hawaiian Sweet Potato Operators: Sweet potato grower-packers supplying retail and foodservice in overlapping geographies, with similar processing, packaging, and distribution capabilities.

Broad incumbents

• Taylor Farms: Large-scale value-added fresh produce company with broad retail and foodservice distribution; overlaps with Nash Produce's value-added fresh-cut/value-added positioning and retail/foodservice customer base.
• Dole plc: Global fresh produce grower-distributor with extensive retail and foodservice distribution; operates at much larger scale but comparable business model of growing, packing, and distributing fresh produce.
• Fresh Del Monte Produce: Vertically integrated global producer, distributor, and marketer of fresh produce with similar B2B sales to retail, foodservice, and wholesale channels across multiple geographies.

Others

• Produce Alliance: Specialty produce procurement and distribution management company working with foodservice distributors; relevant as a competitive channel partner for foodservice sweet potato supply.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nashproduce

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 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 Nash Produce