Peace River Packing

What Peace River Packing does

Peace River Packing is a family-owned agricultural cooperative founded in 1928 and headquartered in Fort Meade, Florida. The company is the largest private employer in Fort Meade with 130+ employees and is a member of Florida's Natural Growers (since 1970). It cooperatively manages over 2,000 acres of citrus groves across Polk, Highlands, and Hillsborough counties and consistently ranks among the Top 20 fresh citrus packinghouses in Florida by production volume. Its core product is fresh citrus — oranges (Navel, Hamlin, Pineapple, Valencia), tangerines and mandarins (including Sugar Belle, Tango, W Murcott, US Early Pride, Bingo, Honey), and grapefruit (Red and Dark Red) — sold wholesale under the Dandy label through an exclusive partnership with Duda Farm Fresh Foods, which handles all marketing, sales, and distribution to grocery retailers domestically and internationally.

The operating platform is a vertically integrated grove-to-packinghouse model. Grove management services include integrated pest management, low-volume spray-jet irrigation targeted at tree root zones, precision fertilizer spreaders that apply inputs only to root zones, and harvesting timed to peak maturity. Packinghouse operations use high-speed electronic graders to enforce USDA Grade #1 standards, robotic/automated bagging and carton packing, carnauba wax coating, and a multilevel cooler maintained at 38°F to preserve freshness. Food safety compliance is maintained through HACCP-based controls plus annual third-party certifications including USDA GAP (Field), USDA GHP (Post-Harvest), and PrimusGFS for both Packinghouse and Ranch operations.

The business model is a hybrid of fresh-produce wholesale and professional services. Fruit revenue flows from harvest, packing, and sale of premium citrus via Duda's marketing office under the Dandy label, with no public retail pricing and pricing negotiated channel-by-channel. A secondary revenue stream is professional grove-caretaking services (grove development, pesticide and fertilizer application, irrigation management, maintenance) provided to co-op members and other Central Florida growers, quoted individually by scope. The customer base is concentrated in B2B segments: grocery retail chains (end destination), wholesale distributors, and co-op member growers.

Name

Peace River Packing

Legal name

Peace River Packing Company

Website

https://peaceriverpacking.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1928

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Family-owned Florida citrus cooperative (founded 1928, Fort Meade) that manages 2,000+ acres of orange, tangerine, and grapefruit groves and packs them at a Top 20 Florida packinghouse, selling all fruit wholesale exclusively through Duda Farm Fresh Foods under the Dandy label.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fresh citrus packing

NAICS

Orange Groves (11131), Citrus (except Orange) Groves (11132)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Citrus Packing Houses (AFAOAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fresh Produce Packhouses (Fruits & Vegetables) (AFAOAGAA)

Keywords

• Fresh citrus packing
• Agricultural cooperative
• Citrus grove management
• Orange grapefruit tangerine production
• Postharvest citrus packing

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Meade

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fresh citrus fruit sales: Revenue generated from harvesting, packing, and selling premium oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit to customers. The company operates as a cooperative managing over 2,000 acres of groves and processes fruit through their packinghouse before distribution to retail customers via their partnership with Duda Farm Fresh Foods.
2. Grove management services: Professional caretaking services provided to co-op members and other growers in Central Florida, including grove development, pesticide and fertilizer application, irrigation management, and general grove maintenance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Peace River Packing Company harvests, packs, and distributes fresh citrus fruit — including oranges, tangerines/mandarins, and grapefruit — from over 2,000 cooperatively managed acres in Central Florida. The company runs a modern packinghouse in Fort Meade with electronic graders, automated bagging, and cold storage, and provides vertically integrated grove management, harvesting, and packing services. All commercial fruit sales flow exclusively through Duda Farm Fresh Foods under the Dandy label.

Product overview

Peace River Packing is a family-owned citrus producer and packer offering a portfolio of fresh produce (oranges, tangerines, mandarins, and grapefruit) alongside complementary agricultural services. The company operates as a cooperative managing over 2,000 acres of citrus groves, providing grove management, harvesting, and packing services. Fruit sales are handled through a partnership with Duda Farm Fresh Foods under their Dandy® label. The core product is fresh citrus produce sold wholesale, supported by vertically integrated services from grove caretaking through packing and cold storage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fresh Oranges Fresh oranges including Navel, Hamlin, Pineapple, and Valencia varieties. Sold wholesale via the Duda Farm Fresh Foods partnership under the Dandy label for grocery retail sale and fresh-squeezed juice use.
• Fresh Grapefruit Fresh Red Grapefruit and Dark Red Grapefruit varieties. Sold wholesale via the Duda Farm Fresh Foods partnership under the Dandy label for grocery retail sale, juice, and fresh-cut slices.
• Fresh Tangerines & Mandarins Fresh tangerines and mandarins including US Early Pride Mandarin, Bingo Mandarin, Sugar Belle, Tango Mandarin, Honey, and W Murcott Mandarin varieties. Sold wholesale via the Duda Farm Fresh Foods partnership under the Dandy label for grocery retail sale as an easy-peeling healthy snack.
• Grove Management Services Professional caretaking services for co-op members and other Central Florida growers, including grove development, pesticide and fertilizer application, irrigation management, pest and weed management (planning, consulting, monitoring, mixing, application, and record keeping), and general grove maintenance. Quoted individually based on scope.
• Harvesting Services Fruit harvesting services that pick citrus at peak maturity to deliver the highest quality product, recognizing that citrus does not ripen off the tree. Provided to co-op members and other growers.
• Citrus Packing Services Postharvest packing services at the Fort Meade packinghouse: high-speed electronic grading to USDA Grade #1 standards, washing for appearance and peel safety, carnauba wax coating to prevent drying and extend shelf life, automated bagging and carton packing, and multilevel cooler storage at 38°F to lock in freshness. Provided to co-op members and other growers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Top 20 fresh citrus packinghouse ranking in Florida
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

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

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Florida's Natural GrowerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1970Agricultural cooperative membership since 1970, providing collective resources, marketing power, and industry representation for Florida citrus growers. Peace River operates as part of this cooperative structure, pooling resources with other member growers.
• Duda Farm Fresh FoodscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStrategic sales and marketing partnership where Duda handles all fruit sales for Peace River Packing Company through their Dandy label. Duda's marketing office manages the sales relationship with customers, leveraging their established distribution network and retail partnerships to market Peace River's citrus products.
• University of Florida IFASminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences for scientific research, pest management guidance, and industry best practices. Peace River works closely with UF-IFAS to ensure their pest and weed control methods are consistent with current scientific research.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Tropicana Brands Group: Major Florida-sourced citrus juice and fresh fruit processor/marketer with extensive Florida grove and packing operations. While focused on processed juice rather than fresh packer services, it competes for the same Florida citrus supply and retail shelf space.
• Cutrale: Brazilian citrus giant with Florida grove and processing operations. Competes with Peace River for Florida citrus supply and global orange juice customers, and represents the scale-driven competitive pressure from international incumbents.
• Duda Farm Fresh Foods: Major Florida-based grower, packer, and marketer of fresh produce. It is Peace River's exclusive sales and marketing partner under the Dandy label, giving it direct visibility into Peace River's volumes and customer mix while operating a much broader produce portfolio.
• Florida's Natural Growers: A large Florida citrus cooperative of which Peace River is a member since 1970. Operates the Florida's Natural juice brand and pools resources, marketing power, and industry representation across many grower-members with overlapping citrus portfolios.

Direct peers

• Ben Hill Griffin: One of the largest Florida citrus growers and packers, with extensive grove operations and packinghouse capacity in central Florida. Directly comparable as a long-established Florida citrus producer serving similar retail and juice markets.
• Southern Gardens Citrus: Florida-based citrus grower and processor (subsidiary of U.S. Sugar) operating thousands of citrus acres and a major packing/processing facility. Overlaps with Peace River in Florida citrus production, packing, and supply to grocery and juice channels.
• IMG Citrus: Vertically integrated Florida citrus grower, packer, and marketer managing thousands of acres of oranges, grapefruit, and tangerines. Operates in the same fresh citrus category with overlapping varieties, customers, and Florida geographies as Peace River.
• Hunt Brothers: Florida-based cooperative-style citrus operator and packer with grove management and packinghouse operations comparable to Peace River's vertically integrated model in the same central Florida region.
• Lake Wales Citrus Growers Association: Florida citrus cooperative offering grove management, harvesting, and packing services to member growers in central Florida. Closely comparable as a regional Florida cooperative in overlapping geography with similar grower-owned service offerings.
• Alico: Large Florida landowner and citrus grower with significant grove acreage and citrus operations. Comparable as a Florida-based citrus production and packing business, though Alico is publicly traded and has a more diversified land-use profile.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/peace-river-packing-company

Compliance5 records

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 Peace River Packing