Leger & Son

What Leger & Son does

Leger & Son is a privately held, third-generation American grower-shipper of fresh watermelons (and, to a lesser extent, pecans) headquartered in Cordele, Georgia. Founded in 1965 by C.M. "Buddy" Leger as Melonsales Inc. and renamed in 2001, the company controls its production from seed to store across a multi-state footprint that moves seasonally up the East Coast — Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Delaware, and Indiana — supplying retail grocery chains, regional grocers, and local markets nationwide. Its core products are seedless watermelon (the specialty) and conventional seeded watermelon, complemented by a legacy pecan operation inherited from predecessor L&M Enterprises.

The company's underlying technology stack is conventional agriculture augmented by selected precision tools: drone-based field monitoring, 4R fertigation, in-field moisture meters, and a fully enclosed, automated sizing and weighing packing facility built in 2013 in Cordele. In 2008, Leger & Son became the first fresh-produce grower-shipper to integrate HarvestMark's unit-level traceability system, earning the Produce Marketing Association Impact Award and enabling traceability from seed to retail. Management holds FSMA Produce Safety Rule Grower certification, Preventative Controls for Human Food certification, and HACCP Alliance Practitioner credentials, and the company undergoes annual second- and third-party social accountability audits.

Commercially, Leger & Son operates a sales-led B2B wholesale motion, with field sales and relationship-based selling to produce buyers at grocery chains and retailers, plus community-level distribution to local markets, festivals, interstate welcome centers, and food bank donations. Pricing is negotiated bilaterally with produce buyers and is not publicly disclosed. Revenue is generated almost entirely from one-time sales of watermelons and pecans; there are no subscription, licensing, or recurring components. The firm is family-controlled, with no external investors, funding rounds, M&A activity, or public market presence.

Name

Leger & Son

Legal name

Leger & Son, Inc.

Website

https://legerandson.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Leger & Son is a privately held, third-generation family-owned grower-shipper based in Cordele, Georgia, producing and distributing seedless and seeded watermelons (and pecans) from a multi-state East Coast footprint to retail grocery chains nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cordele

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, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Watermelon Sales: Primary revenue stream from growing, harvesting, packing and shipping watermelons to grocery stores and retail chains nationwide. Seasonal business with operations spanning Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Delaware, and Indiana.
2. Pecan Sales: Secondary revenue stream from growing, harvesting, shelling and marketing pecans. Legacy business inherited from founder Buddy Leger's earlier ventures (L&M Enterprises).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Leger & Son grows, harvests, packs, and ships premium seedless and conventional watermelons from its family of farms in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Delaware, and Indiana to grocery stores and retail chains nationwide. The company also grows, harvests, shells, and markets pecans as a secondary legacy business. Operations are supported by a fully enclosed packing facility with automated sizing equipment and HarvestMark unit-level traceability from seed to store.

Product overview

Leger & Son is a third-generation family-owned watermelon and pecan grower-shipper operating since 1965. The company controls all aspects from seed to store, offering two core product lines: seedless watermelon (their specialty) and conventional seeded watermelon, complemented by a pecan growing and marketing operation. They operate a state-of-the-art packing facility with automated sizing equipment and ship throughout the southeastern United States. The company also maintains food safety and traceability systems including HarvestMark unit-level traceability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Seedless Watermelon Premium seedless watermelon variety, a specialty of Leger & Son, grown through traditional crossbreeding (not GMOs) and supplied to thousands of families nationwide through grocery store distribution.
• Conventional (Seeded) Watermelon Traditional seeded watermelon varieties grown on the company's family of farms in the southeastern United States and shipped to retailers throughout Florida, Georgia, Indiana, and Missouri.
• Pecans Leger & Son, through predecessor L&M Enterprises Inc., grows, harvests, shells, and markets pecans alongside watermelons, remaining active in both the watermelon and pecan industries.

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• HarvestMarkcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2008HarvestMark's unit traceability system was incorporated into Leger & Son's watermelon program in 2008, making them the first fresh produce grower-shipper to do so. This innovation put Leger on the map and enabled full traceability from seed to store.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Melon 1: One of the largest watermelon grower-shippers in the United States, supplying seedless and seeded watermelons to retail and foodservice customers nationwide. Directly comparable as a vertically integrated watermelon grower-shipper with national distribution.
• Wish Farms: Florida-based multi-generational family-owned grower-shipper of strawberries, blueberries, and other produce. Comparable as a regional, family-led grower-shipper serving major retail grocery customers with branded fresh produce.
• Tanimura & Antle: Family-owned grower-shipper of fresh vegetables and leafy greens with operations across California, Arizona, and other states. Comparable as a multi-state grower-shipper supplying retail grocery chains with branded fresh produce.

Broad incumbents

• Dole plc: Global produce company offering fresh fruits and vegetables including melons to retailers worldwide. Comparable as a broad incumbent in fresh produce with overlapping retail grocery customers and national distribution scale.
• Fresh Del Monte Produce: Vertically integrated global producer and distributor of fresh and fresh-cut fruit and vegetables including melons. Comparable as a large incumbent produce grower-shipper serving retail grocery chains with melon programs.
• Grimmway Farms: One of the largest US produce growers, supplying organic and conventional vegetables to retail and foodservice customers nationwide. Comparable as a broad incumbent grower-shipper serving major grocery chains with branded fresh produce.

Emerging players

• Pero Family Farms: Multi-generational family-owned vegetable grower specializing in fresh-cut and value-added produce for retail and foodservice. Comparable as a family-led, vertically integrated produce grower-shipper focused on quality and traceability.
• HMC Farms: Multi-generational family-owned grower of stone fruit, citrus, and table grapes in California. Comparable as a family-operated grower-shipper supplying retail grocery customers with branded fresh produce.

Regional players

• Burch Farms: North Carolina-based multi-generational family farm growing watermelons, cantaloupes, and other produce. Comparable as a similarly sized family-owned southeastern US watermelon grower with retail grocery customers.

Others

• National Watermelon Association: Industry trade association representing US watermelon growers, shippers, and distributors. Relevant ecosystem participant connected to Leger & Son's industry leadership and multiple NWA Outstanding Service Awards.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/legerandson
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/legerandson
• Instagraminstagram.com/legerandson

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Leger & Son