Earth Source

What Earth Source does

Earth Source is a privately held, family-owned fresh produce company headquartered in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, established in 2006. The company operates as an intermediary in the fresh fruit supply chain, sourcing apples, lemons, and limes from a global network of growers and reselling them to produce buyers. Its value proposition centers on three operational promises: partnering only with financially sound growers, enforcing good agricultural practices, and providing complete food-safety traceability from farm to buyer. The company maintains a registered branded sub-line, Green Bee Citrus, indicating a modest move beyond pure bulk commodity sales into consumer-facing branded citrus. Distribution is supported by a core logistics partnership with Sunrise Logistics Inc., with FS Produce Inc. appearing as an additional produce-industry partner.

The business model is a transactional intermediation model: Earth Source generates revenue on each sale of fresh produce, earning margin on the spread between grower acquisition cost and buyer sale price, with pricing tied to commodity market conditions by season, volume, and grade rather than disclosed fixed pricing. The go-to-market is direct B2B sales targeting enterprise produce buyers (likely retailers, wholesalers, and foodservice operators), with marketing limited to the company website, brand storytelling, and an Instagram presence. Customers are described horizontally as "Produce Growers" (suppliers) and downstream produce buyers, with no public customer logos, no segment revenue split, and no pricing transparency.

Earth Source is bootstrapped, with no disclosed funding, parent company, subsidiary structure, or external institutional investment. Operations are concentrated at the single Ephrata headquarters with 51-100 employees, and its scope remains deliberately narrow across only three core commodities plus one branded line — implying a stable, specialized mid-market broker positioning rather than a full-line national distributor.

Name

Earth Source

Legal name

Earth Source

Website

https://earthsourcetrading.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Earth Source is a family-owned fresh produce company, founded in 2006 in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, that sources apples, lemons, and limes from a global network of growers and sells them to produce buyers, emphasizing food safety, traceability, and grower financial stability.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fresh Produce Distribution

NAICS

Fruit and Tree Nut Farming (1113), Apple Orchards (111331), Citrus (except Orange) Groves (11132)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Produce Markets & Greengrocers (CRAHAHAA)

Keywords

• Fresh produce distribution
• Bulk fruit sourcing
• Citrus supply
• Apple sourcing
• Agricultural commodity trading

Headquarters

HQ city

Ephrata

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fresh Produce Sales: Earth Source generates revenue through the sale of fresh produce including apples, lemons, and limes sourced from a global network of growers. The company acts as an intermediary between growers and buyers, offering traceable, food-safe produce with financial stability assurances for growers.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Earth Source is a family-owned fresh produce company that sources and distributes bulk apples, lemons, and limes from a worldwide network of growers to produce buyers. The company positions itself as an intermediary emphasizing financially sound growers, good agricultural practices, food safety, and complete traceability from farm to buyer, complemented by its Green Bee Citrus branded citrus sub-brand.

Product overview

Earth Source is a family-owned agricultural produce company (since 2006) that operates as a bulk produce distributor, working with growers worldwide to supply fresh fruits. The product portfolio centers on three core produce categories—Apples, Lemons, and Limes—offered as bulk commodity products, complemented by the Green Bee Citrus sub-brand for branded citrus offerings. The company focuses on food safety, traceability, and partnerships with financially sound growers practicing good agricultural practices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Green Bee Citrus: A branded citrus product line offered by Earth Source.

Products and services

• Apples Fresh apples sourced from Earth Source's global grower network and sold in bulk to produce buyers. Targeted at businesses purchasing fresh produce for distribution, retail, or food service.
• Lemons Fresh lemons sourced from Earth Source's global grower network and sold in bulk to produce buyers. Targeted at businesses purchasing fresh produce for distribution, retail, or food service.
• Limes Fresh limes sourced from Earth Source's global grower network and sold in bulk to produce buyers. Targeted at businesses purchasing fresh produce for distribution, retail, or food service.
• Green Bee Citrus A registered branded citrus product line offered by Earth Source, representing the company's branded citrus portfolio in addition to its bulk offerings.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• FS Produce Inc.minorOthersFS Produce Inc. appears as a partner logo on Earth Source's website footer. Nature of relationship not explicitly detailed but appears to be a connected produce industry entity.
• Sunrise Logistics Inc.coreOthersLogistics partner supporting Earth Source's distribution operations. Appears in company logo footer alongside FS Produce Inc., indicating a strategic logistics relationship for supply chain operations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Limoneira Company: Limoneira is one of the largest lemon producers and marketers in the U.S. with a direct overlap in the lemon/lime citrus categories that Earth Source sources. It is a comparable player in the citrus supply chain, combining grower relationships and marketing/distribution.
• Stemilt Growers: Stemilt is a major U.S. apple and pear grower-marketer based in Washington State. It directly overlaps with Earth Source's apple sourcing category and operates a similar grower-network/intermediary model across multiple fruit categories.
• Vanguard International: Vanguard International is a global grower-marketer of apples, pears, citrus, and other fresh fruits, sourcing from multiple continents. Its multi-category, global grower-network model directly compares to Earth Source's apples-and-citrus sourcing structure.
• Frieda's Specialty Produce: Frieda's is a specialty produce distributor sourcing unique and high-quality fruits from global growers, similar in spirit to Earth Source's curated citrus-and-apple portfolio. Both are family-built, relationship-driven B2B produce intermediaries.
• FS Produce Inc. FS Produce appears as a partner on Earth Source's website and operates in the fresh produce distribution/intermediary space. It is the closest publicly identified peer, sharing the same B2B produce sourcing model for similar fruit categories.

Broad incumbents

• Wonderful Citrus: Wonderful Citrus is the largest grower, packer, and shipper of citrus in the Western U.S., covering mandarins, oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruits. It competes directly with Earth Source in the citrus sourcing channel and is one of the largest direct incumbents in the category.
• Driscoll's: Driscoll's is the largest berry marketer in the world with a global grower network distributing strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. While focused on berries, its grower-intermediary model and traceability focus make it a meaningful structural comparable.
• Sunkist Growers: Sunkist is a large, established citrus marketing cooperative representing thousands of California and Arizona citrus growers. It directly overlaps with Earth Source's citrus sourcing and distribution, but at much greater scale and brand recognition.
• Robinson Fresh (a C.H. Robinson division): Robinson Fresh sources and supplies fresh produce globally as part of C.H. Robinson, one of the largest third-party logistics and produce distribution operators. It competes in the multi-category produce sourcing channel and dwarfs Earth Source in scale and breadth.

Regional players

• Index Fresh (Calavo Growers): Calavo/Index Fresh is a leading avocado and tropical fruit marketer with a grower-network sourcing model analogous to Earth Source's. While focused on avocados, the grower-intermediary structure and global sourcing approach are directly comparable.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/earthsource
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/earth-source-trading-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Earth Source