What HOLLINGBERY & SON INC. does

Hollingbery & Son, Inc. is a fourth-generation, family-owned hop broker and trader founded in 1942 by O.E. 'Babe' Hollingbery and currently operated by Bud and Matt Hollingbery from its headquarters in Yakima, Washington. The company sources and distributes over 90 varieties of high-quality hop products through established grower and dealer networks, with the majority of US hop production located within a day's drive of its facilities. Its primary customer segment is craft brewers seeking reliable access to diverse hop varieties, with a secondary segment of hop merchants and dealers.

The company's physical infrastructure sits on three half-city blocks in Yakima's historic Fruit Row district and includes commercial cold storage and Controlled Atmosphere storage held at 28°F with ammonia refrigeration and real-time monitoring, a high-throughput T-90 pellet mill built in 2015 optimized for craft-brewer specifications (coarser grist, softer pellets, multiple cooling steps, nitrogen-flushed Mylar packaging), and an in-house analytical laboratory performing alpha acid, beta acid, hop storage index, cohumulone, moisture, and essential-oil profiling via GC, HPLC, and UV/Vis spectrophotometry. Box labels carry QR codes linked to a lot lookup tool for full traceability. The company also operates an off-site CA storage facility under a partnership with La Salle High School.

Hollingbery's go-to-market is contract-led, with five regional sales managers (West, Central, East, Southwest, Midwest) whose expertise spans agronomy to brewing science. Forward contracts are structured around the crop-year cycle: brewers are guided to secure 90-100% of needs for the upcoming brew year and 50-75% for contracts two or more years out, with hops available January through April for spot and contract fulfillment. Revenue is generated through hop contracting, spot sales, T-90 pelleting services, and standardized cold-storage/financing terms ($1.00/case/month plus 1% monthly interest on prepaid inventory), supplemented by a self-serve online shop and lot-lookup platform.

Name

HOLLINGBERY & SON INC.

Legal name

Hollingbery & Son, Inc.

Website

https://hollingberyandson.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1942

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HOLLINGBERY & SON INC. is a fourth-generation, family-owned hop broker and trader in Yakima, WA, sourcing 90+ hop varieties from grower and dealer networks and serving craft brewers and hop merchants with T-90 pelleting, CA cold storage, and in-house quality analysis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hop Products & Brewing Ingredients

akta.pro primary industry

Hop Farming (AFAGAGAB)

Keywords

• Hop brokerage
• Craft brewing supply
• Pellet processing
• Cold storage services
• Hop contracting

Headquarters

HQ city

Yakima

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hop Contracting: Forward contracts for hops by crop year, variety, and volume. Customers lock in pricing and supply for upcoming brew years (90-100% for upcoming year, 50-75% for 2+ years out). Revenue recognized upon delivery.
2. Hop Spot Sales: On-demand hop purchases outside of contracted volumes. Available for domestic varieties starting January 1, with European hops arriving January through April and Southern Hemisphere hops arriving October through December.
3. Pelleting Services: Processing of hop bales into pellets (T-90 format). Pelleting typically runs October through February. Packaging in 22 lb (10kg) nitrogen-flushed, soft pack, Mylar foils.
4. Storage Services: Extended storage for contracted hops remaining after harvest. Options include paying final installment and shipping, or continuing storage at $1.00/case/month with 1% interest/month on remaining balance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

HOLLINGBERY & SON INC. is a fourth-generation family-owned hop broker and processor that supplies over 90 varieties of hop products, including leaf hops and T-90 pellets, to craft brewers and other brewing customers. The company operates from Yakima, Washington and offers integrated services spanning hop sourcing, multi-year contracting, on-demand spot sales, pellet mill processing, and controlled-atmosphere cold storage at its downtown Yakima facilities.

Product overview

Hollingbery and Son is a family-owned hop broker and trader founded in 1942, now in its fourth generation. The company offers a unified portfolio centered on hop products: over 90 varieties sourced from grower relationships, processed through their pellet mill into T-90 pellets for craft brewers. The offering extends to lot lookup/traceability services, hop contracting for multi-year planning, and in-house quality analysis using spectrophotometry, HPLC, and GC-FID instruments. Facilities include warehouse/storage (CA and cold storage at 28°F) and a ~400-acre farm in Wapato, WA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hop Products Brokered and processed hop products covering over 90 varieties of high-quality hops, including leaf hops and T-90 pellets, sourced from relationships with hop growers and dealers in the Yakima Valley. Offered to craft brewers and other brewing customers.
• Pellet Mill Services High-throughput T-90 pellet production designed for craft brewers, producing coarser grist and softer pellets for optimal dry hopping. The process includes multiple cooling steps to ensure low pellet temperature with minimal oil degradation and high-volume blending for consistently homogenous product. Packaged in 22 lb (10 kg) nitrogen-flushed, soft pack Mylar foils.
• Hop Contracting Services Forward contracting services that let customers lock in hop supply by crop year, variety, and volume for upcoming brew years. Customers are guided to secure 90-100% of expected needs for the upcoming brew year and 50-75% for contracts 2+ years out. Support includes spot sales, hop market planning, and on-site hop selection visits in Yakima.
• Warehouse & Cold Storage Controlled-atmosphere (CA) and cold storage facilities spanning three half-city blocks in downtown Yakima, with hops stored at 28°F. Uses ammonia refrigeration with computer-controlled real-time monitoring of all storage parameters. Storage fees are $1.00 per case per month starting August 1 for remaining contracted inventory, with 1% per month interest on remaining prepaid balance.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Grower NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term relationships with hop growers providing reliable access to over 90 varieties of high quality hop products. Grower relationships enable quality oversight at every stage of the growing process with majority of US hop production within a day's drive.
• Dealer NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEstablished relationships with hop dealers supplementing grower network to provide diverse hop varieties and distribution capabilities.
• La Salle High SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOff-site CA storage facility operated by HBS but owned by La Salle High School, with all proceeds from the facility going to the school. Unique community partnership supporting local education.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 HOLLINGBERY & SON INC.