Rice Fruit Company

What Rice Fruit Company does

Rice Fruit Company is a family-owned wholesale fruit packer and marketer founded in 1913 in Adams County, Pennsylvania, currently operating from its Gardners, PA facility built in 1955. The company receives, stores, packages, and markets fresh fruit on behalf of over 40 farm families in the surrounding region, offering 13 named apple varieties (including Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Kiku, and EverCrisp) plus a secondary peach product line. Its principal technical differentiator is Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage technology that regulates oxygen, carbon dioxide, and temperature to slow the ripening process, enabling year-round supply despite a seasonal August-November harvest. Distribution is exclusively B2B wholesale to retail supermarket chains (national/regional grocers and local retailers); the company does not sell directly to consumers and explicitly declines individual orders. A multi-generational joint venture with the Lott family through R & L Orchards Co. secures dedicated high-quality fruit supply. Revenue mechanics are transaction-based wholesale fruit sales; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company maintains a content-marketing presence (recipe blog, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest) to support retail buyer preference and consumer awareness under its 'Sweet Natured' brand positioning, and adopted a formal Human Rights Policy in September 2024 under President Ben Rice, who succeeded his father David Rice in 2017.

Name

Rice Fruit Company

Legal name

Rice Fruit Company

Website

https://ricefruit.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1913

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Rice Fruit Company is a family-owned wholesale fruit packer and marketer in Adams County, Pennsylvania, that receives, stores, packages, and markets fresh apples and peaches for over 40 farm families, supplying retail supermarket chains via Controlled Atmosphere storage for year-round availability.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Fresh Produce Distribution

NAICS

Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing (3114)

SIC

Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140)

akta.pro primary industry

Fresh Fruit Wholesale (AFAIACAA)

Keywords

• Wholesale fruit distribution
• Fresh apple packing
• Controlled atmosphere storage
• Apple varieties
• Farm-to-retail marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Gardners

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, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Fruit Sales: Rice Fruit Company receives, stores, packages and markets fruit for over 40 farm families in Adams County, Pennsylvania. The company operates packing facilities where apples are received during harvest (August-November), stored using Controlled Atmosphere technology, and then packed and shipped to retailers year-round. Revenue is generated through the sale of packaged apples and other fruit to supermarket chains and retailers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Rice Fruit Company is a wholesale fruit packing and marketing business that receives, stores, packages, and markets fresh fruit — primarily apples (13+ varieties) and peaches — for over 40 farm families in Adams County, Pennsylvania. The company uses Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage and food-grade wax coating to deliver fresh, year-round apples to retail supermarket chains and regional grocery retailers.

Product overview

Rice Fruit Company operates as a fruit packing and marketing business, not a traditional software product company. Their core offering consists of receiving, storing, packaging, and marketing fresh fruit (primarily apples and peaches) for over 40 farm families in Adams County, Pennsylvania. The company offers 13 distinct apple varieties including Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Ginger Gold, Pink Lady®, Red Delicious, Ambrosia, EverCrisp®, Kiku®, Lemonade™, and CrimsonCrisp. The company's technological differentiator is their Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage technology, which allows them to maintain apple freshness year-round by regulating atmospheric conditions to pause the ripening process. They also publish recipes featuring their fruit products on their website.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ginger Gold Apples Pale yellow apple with greenish hue, featuring tangy tart taste with a mildly sweet finish; suitable for fresh cut, salads, cider, and saucing. Sold wholesale in boxes to retail supermarket chains.
• CrimsonCrisp Apples Vibrant crimson apple with mellow yellow undertones and a snappy sweet-tart flavor with a refreshing finish; suitable for eating out of hand, salads, or baking. Sold wholesale to retailers.
• Ambrosia Apples Bright reds and yellows with yellow undertone; sweet apple with floral notes that is very slow to brown, making it well suited for apple slices. Sold wholesale to retailers.
• Red Delicious Apples Deep red apple with stripy undertone; traditional sweet flavor with mild sweet finish; suitable for eating out of hand, fresh cut with dip, or sweet cider blends. Sold wholesale.
• Pink Lady® Apples Pink apple with yellow undertones; sweet-tart start with mild tart finish; suitable for eating out of hand and fresh cut. Sold wholesale to retailers.
• Granny Smith Apples Pale emerald green apple with pink sun-kissed cheek; tart/sweet flavor with mild sweet finish; suitable for fresh cut, cooking, and saucing. Sold wholesale.
• Honeycrisp Apples Red striped apple with creamy yellow/green undertones; sweet/tart explosion with tangy sweet finish; suitable for eating out of hand, salads, cider, and saucing. Sold wholesale.
• Golden Delicious Apples Freckled sunrise golden with touch of pink cheek; traditional sweet with mild aroma and smooth finish; suitable for eating out of hand, salads, cider, cooking, and saucing. Sold wholesale.
• Gala Apples Red/orange striped with creamy orange undertone; aromatic mild sweet flavor with soft finish; suitable for eating out of hand, salads, cider, and saucing. Sold wholesale.
• Lemonade™ Apples Deep yellow apple with sun-kissed blushed cheeks; sweet and tart with refreshing effervescence; suitable for eating out of hand, pairing with savory cheese, or topping salads. Sold wholesale.
• Kiku® Apples Red striped apple with yellow undertone; super-sweet burst with sweet snap finish; one of the sweetest apples grown, with very limited U.S. distribution rights. Sold wholesale.
• EverCrisp® Apples Rosy red apple over cream background; sweet, complex, and dense flavor profile. A cross between Fuji and Honeycrisp parent varieties. Sold wholesale to retailers.
• Fuji Apples Red striped over cream appearance; intense sweet flavor with crisp finish; suitable for eating out of hand, salads, cider, and cooking. Sold wholesale.
• Fresh Peaches Fresh peaches packed and marketed wholesale by Rice Fruit Company as part of its fruit packing operations in Adams County, Pennsylvania.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• R & L Orchards CocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1955Partnership formed between Arthur Rice, Jr. and William Lott to grow high quality fruit to be packed by Rice Fruit Company. The partnership between the Rice and Lott families continues to this day, representing a multi-generational strategic alliance in fruit production.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sage Fruit Company: Yakima, Washington-based apple, pear and cherry packer-marketer supplying retail and foodservice. Directly comparable as a multi-variety packer with a focus on branded apple programs and retail relationships, though West Coast-based and at smaller scale than the largest PNW shippers.
• Domex Superfresh Growers: Pacific Northwest grower and shipper of apples, pears, cherries and stone fruit under the Superfresh brand. Closely comparable business model — multi-grower packing, year-round storage, branded marketing into retail — but based in Washington/Oregon rather than Pennsylvania.
• Rainier Fruit Company: Pacific Northwest grower-packer-marketer of apples, pears, cherries and blueberries serving retail and foodservice channels. Comparable wholesale-packing model with branded marketing, but with a much larger grower base and broader category mix than Rice Fruit.
• Stemilt Growers: Family-owned Wenatchee, Washington apple, pear and cherry grower-packer-marketer. Directly comparable as a vertically-integrated, family-run tree-fruit packer selling branded and conventional apples to retail supermarket chains, but operating at a materially larger scale from the Pacific Northwest.
• BelleHarvest: Michigan apple grower-packer-marketer selling branded apples into retail and foodservice. Comparable as a regional, multi-grower apple packer focused on retail supermarket accounts, but operating from a different East-of-Mississippi growing region (Michigan) than Rice Fruit's Pennsylvania base.
• CMI Orchards: Washington state apple, pear and cherry grower-packer-marketer with a strong licensed and managed-variety focus (including Kiku®, Ambrosia, Envy, Jazz, Pacific Rose). Closely comparable to Rice Fruit's varietal-led, branded-supply model, and one of the few other US Kiku® licensees.

Regional players

• Hess Brothers Fruit Company: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania family-run wholesale produce distributor and packer serving East Coast retailers. Closely comparable regional competitor operating in the same Pennsylvania/Mid-Atlantic produce belt, with a similar family-business heritage and retail-supermarket customer base.
• New York Apple Sales: Glenmont, New York-based apple grower-packer-marketer representing multiple New York state orchards. Comparable as a regional, multi-grower apple packer selling branded varieties into East Coast retail, but concentrated in New York rather than Pennsylvania and operating at modest scale.

Others

• Wada Farms: Idaho-based family-run grower-packer-shipper of potatoes, onions and other fresh produce supplying retail and foodservice nationwide. Comparable as a family-owned, vertically-integrated produce packer focused on retail-supermarket distribution, though operating in a different category (row crops vs tree fruit).

Emerging players

• Crunch Pak: Washington-state based sliced apple and produce snack packer focused on fresh-cut, ready-to-eat apple products sold through retail and foodservice. Adjacent and emerging relative to Rice Fruit — it overlaps on the apple supply chain but is differentiated by its fresh-cut, value-added format which Rice Fruit does not currently produce.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ricefruitcompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rice-fruit-company
• Instagraminstagram.com/ricefruitcompany
• Pinterestpinterest.com/ricefruitcompany

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Rice Fruit Company