Organics Unlimited

What Organics Unlimited does

Organics Unlimited is a privately held, family-owned grower and wholesaler of organic tropical produce headquartered in San Diego, California, founded by Mayra Velazquez de León in 2000 as the first U.S. marketer of organic bananas. The company operates its own farms and direct-trade partner growers in Colima and Michoacán, Mexico, and in Ecuador, producing premium organic cavendish bananas as its core product alongside plantains, coconuts, and (as of 2024) papayas. The underlying production technology is conventional organic agriculture, with no synthetic pesticides or chemicals, and the company holds USDA Organic, Fairtrade, Canada Organic, JAS, and PrimusGFS certifications.

The company sells through a sales-led B2B model, distributing to retail grocery chains and wholesale distributors across the United States, Canada, and Asia, with Japan served via distributor Arco International. Revenue is generated through wholesale per-case pricing on branded Organics Unlimited and GROW bananas, plus private label packing for retailer-owned programs. A portion of every GROW-branded case sale is donated to the GROW Fund, which is administered by the International Community Foundation and deployed through nonprofit partners (Project Amigo, Children International, FUNED, Environmental Health Coalition) into education, healthcare, and community programs in Mexico and Ecuador.

Customer relationships average 15 years, indicating high account stickiness, though no named retailer logos or revenue splits are disclosed. The GROW social impact program, founded in 2005, functions as the company's primary brand differentiator and consumer engagement mechanism, supported by annual campaigns such as GROW Month in September. The business is small by enterprise scale (11-50 employees) but operationally mature, with multi-jurisdictional certifications and 1,865 acres of Mexican farmland providing a stable production base for its wholesale model.

Name

Organics Unlimited

Legal name

Organics Unlimited

Website

https://organicsunlimited.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organic Tropical Produce

NAICS

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Merchant Wholesalers (424480)

SIC

Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140)

akta.pro primary industry

Fresh Organic Produce Wholesale (AFAIAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Natural, Organic & Health Foods Wholesale Distribution (CRAOAAAK), Natural & Organic Foods Distribution (CRAOABAH)

Keywords

• Organic bananas
• Tropical produce
• Wholesale produce
• Organic farming
• Fair trade bananas

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Organic tropical produce wholesale sales: Direct sale of organic bananas, plantains, coconuts, and papayas to retail grocery stores, wholesale distributors, and international markets including Japan and Asia. Revenue is generated through per-case wholesale pricing to retailers.
2. GROW branded product sales: A portion of proceeds from every case of GROW Banana and GROW Papaya sales is allocated to the GROW Fund, which supports community programs in Mexico and Ecuador. This social mission drives retailer shelf placement and consumer brand preference.
3. Private label banana sales: Offers private label packing of premium quality organic bananas under retailer brand names, with a portion of every sale donated to the GROW Program.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Organics Unlimited is a fourth-generation, family-owned grower and wholesaler of premium organic tropical produce, principally cavendish bananas, grown on its own farms and through direct-trade partner growers in Colima and Michoacán, Mexico and in Ecuador. The portfolio includes the core Organics Unlimited organic banana brand, the socially responsible GROW sub-brand for bananas and papayas (with per-case proceeds funding the GROW Program), FairTrade Certified bananas, organic mature brown coconuts, and a private label packing option for retailers.

Product overview

Organics Unlimited is a family-owned organic tropical produce company offering a portfolio of products centered on organic cavendish bananas as the core offering. The company provides its flagship Organics Unlimited brand of premium organic bananas, a Private Label option for retailers, and its socially responsible GROW sub-brand (covering both bananas and papayas) where proceeds fund community programs. Additional offerings include FairTrade Certified bananas and organic coconuts. The company sources from its own farms and through direct trade relationships in Mexico and Ecuador, with a stated commitment to 100% organic since its founding in 2000.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GROW Bananas: Socially responsible label of premium quality organic bananas which donates a portion of every sale to the GROW Program.
• GROW Papaya

Products and services

• Organics Unlimited Organic Bananas Premium quality organic cavendish bananas ethically sourced from Mexico and Ecuador, sold wholesale to retail grocery stores and distributors in the United States, Canada, and Asia.
• GROW Bananas Socially responsible label of premium quality organic bananas with a portion of every case sale donated to the GROW Program, supporting education, health, and environmental initiatives in banana-growing communities.
• GROW Papaya Socially responsible label of premium quality organic papayas with $0.40 of every case donated to the GROW Fund, supporting community programs in Mexico, Ecuador, and border regions.
• FairTrade Certified Bananas Fairtrade certified organic cavendish bananas meeting fair trade standards for worker welfare and sustainable practices, available as a distinct certified product line.
• Organic Coconuts Organic mature brown coconuts sourced from Mexico, expanding the company's tropical produce offerings beyond bananas for retail grocery and wholesale customers.
• Private Label Organic Bananas Packing of premium quality organic bananas under retailer private label brands, allowing retailers to offer an organic banana SKU under their own label while contributing a portion of each sale to the GROW Program.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $2 million in community aid provided since 2005 through GROW Program
• +4 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Fundación Mexicana para la Educación, la Tecnología y la Ciencia (FUNED)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership with FUNED to award the Carlos Cortes Scholarship for postgraduate education. The scholarship recognizes individuals whose careers reflect commitment to social responsibility, fair trade, sustainability, and innovation in the food sector. In 2023, the first Carlos Cortes Scholarship was awarded to Carmen Leticia Hidalgo Mujica, who graduated with a master's degree in Food Quality and Innovation from the University of Leeds in 2024.
• Children InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Partnership with Children International, a nonprofit serving Guayaquil, Ecuador for over a decade. GROW funds support healthcare, dental services, and nutrition programs for children. In 2024, over 9,000 children were educated on preventive health. Between 2019-2024, 3,172 children received nutritional support and nearly 800 were rehabilitated from malnutrition. Children International has linked families to over 43,000 local health services.
• Project AmigocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Long-term partnership with Project Amigo, a nonprofit providing scholarships and educational support to banana-growing communities in Colima, Mexico. GROW funds administered through Project Amigo support students from primary school through university, including room and board at Casa Amiga, tutoring, books, medical and dental care, and transportation. In 2024, 90 scholarships were awarded through this partnership. Project Amigo also administers the GROW Education Center.
• Environmental Health CoalitionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the Environmental Health Coalition to promote environmental justice on both sides of the San Diego-Tijuana border. In Tijuana, GROW funded an air monitoring campaign. In San Diego portside neighborhoods, the partnership advocated for the transition of buses, heavy-duty trucks, harbor crafts, and cargo handling equipment to zero-emission technologies.
• International Community FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGROW Fund donations are managed and distributed by the International Community Foundation. The foundation oversees the allocation of funds raised from GROW product sales to community programs in Mexico and Ecuador.
• Arco InternationalcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorArco International is the exclusive distributor for Organics Unlimited's retail programs in Japan. All organic bananas shipped to Japan are JAS certified through this distribution partnership.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Fyffes: Irish-headquartered tropical produce marketer with significant banana operations in Latin America. Comparable as a banana-focused supplier to North American and European retailers with sustainability and fair-trade positioning.
• Fresh Del Monte Produce: Vertically integrated producer, distributor, and marketer of bananas and fresh produce including organic and fair-trade offerings. Comparable business model spanning Latin American growing operations and global B2B retail distribution.
• Chiquita Brands International: One of the world's largest banana producers and marketers with growing organic and fair-trade product lines. Directly comparable as a banana grower-shipper supplying North American grocery retailers, though at much greater scale and with broader conventional product mix.
• Banacol: Colombian banana and exotic fruit producer-exporter supplying North American, European, and Asian wholesale markets. Comparable as a vertically integrated Latin American banana grower with international B2B distribution.
• Turbana / Uniban: Colombian banana grower-exporter serving U.S. and European markets. Comparable as a Latin American grower-distributor of tropical produce, though primarily focused on conventional Cavendish rather than organic.
• Dole plc: Major global produce company with a dedicated Dole Organic banana program sourced from Latin America. Comparable as a vertically integrated banana supplier to U.S. retail, with far broader produce portfolio and distribution scale.
• Pacific Organic Produce (Bonita Bananas): Specialty organic banana importer and distributor supplying North American retailers. Closely comparable as an organic-only banana specialist with similar mid-sized scale and direct-to-retailer sales motion.

Broad incumbents

• Driscoll's: Largest berry marketer globally with expanding organic berry lines and direct grower relationships. Comparable in that it sources from contracted Latin American growers and markets organic produce to U.S. retailers, but focuses on berries rather than tropical fruit.
• Earthbound Farm (Taylor Farms): Pioneer in U.S. organic produce with broad organic fruit and vegetable portfolio. Comparable organic brand and retail relationships, but specializes in bagged salads and vegetables rather than tropical fruit.

Emerging players

• Equal Exchange: Worker-owned cooperative selling fair-trade and organic bananas, avocados, and other tropical produce. Comparable mission-driven organic/fair-trade positioning at smaller scale, primarily through natural-food retail channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/oubananas
• Facebookfacebook.com/OrganicsUnlimited
• Instagraminstagram.com/organics.unlimited

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Organics Unlimited