Why Fresh Produce Matters More Than Ever
There’s a quiet revolution underway in the way we eat. And it’s not driven by protein shakes or food apps — it’s driven by fruit and vegetables.
Fresh produce has shifted from being just a commodity to something far more strategic. In 2025, it’s at the centre of how supermarkets draw footfall, how governments shape nutrition policy, and how shoppers decide what belongs in their fridge.
Retailers are building their strategies around fresh. Logistics firms are redesigning cold chains. Consumers are reading labels and asking questions. The days of a generic apple in a plastic tray are fading. What’s replacing it is traceable, branded, sometimes pre-cut, and always expected to deliver quality and shelf-life.
So who’s delivering that scale? Who’s behind the systems that bring fresh produce from remote farms to millions of homes each day?
Here’s a look at the world’s top 10 fresh produce companies, ranked by revenue in 2025 — and why each one matters.
How These Companies Were Chosen
This ranking includes companies that:
Primarily earn revenue from fresh fruit and vegetables
Operate across more than one region
Supply to both wholesale and retail customers
Are leaders in logistics, brand trust, or agricultural innovation
Have publicly reported or estimated revenue from fresh produce only
It excludes grain traders, frozen-only processors, and firms not directly engaged in food retail chains.
2025’s Top 10 Fresh Produce Companies by Revenue
| Rank | Company | 2025 Revenue (USD B) | Headquarters | Key Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dole plc | $9.3 | Ireland / USA | Bananas, pineapples, vegetables |
| 2 | Fresh Del Monte Produce | $4.5 | USA | Bananas, melons, fresh-cut fruit |
| 3 | Total Produce (Dole Europe) | $3.9 | Ireland | EU fruit & vegetable distribution |
| 4 | Greenyard | $4.3 | Belgium | Fresh fruit, vegetables, convenience produce |
| 5 | Driscoll’s | $2.4 | USA | Berries: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries |
| 6 | Zespri | $3.0 | New Zealand | Kiwifruit |
| 7 | Mission Produce | $1.4 | USA | Avocados |
| 8 | Bonduelle | $3.2 | France | Fresh-cut salads, vegetables, ready meals |
| 9 | NatureSweet | $1.0 | USA | Tomatoes, greenhouse-grown veg |
| 10 | Calavo Growers | $1.2 | USA | Avocados, tomatoes, guacamole |
Company Profiles: Who’s Leading the Fresh Food Charge?
1. Dole plc — Still the Biggest Name in Bananas
📍 Dublin, Ireland / Charlotte, USA
💰 Revenue: $9.3 billion
👥 Employees: 38,000+
Dole hasn’t just maintained its position — it’s sharpened it. In 2025, it remains the largest fresh produce firm globally by revenue. But the real story lies in how Dole has diversified.
Yes, bananas and pineapples are still the bedrock. But the company’s investment in packaged salads, vegetable mixes, and zero-emission logistics has positioned it at the centre of supermarket produce aisles from Los Angeles to Luxembourg.
Dole now controls vast parts of its supply chain — farms, ports, packaging, and shipping — giving it resilience and pricing power in a volatile market.
2. Fresh Del Monte Produce — Scaling Up, Cutting Fresh
📍 Coral Gables, Florida, USA
💰 Revenue: $4.5 billion
👥 Employees: 35,000+
Fresh Del Monte has turned the concept of fresh-cut fruit into a high-margin, global category. It now supplies pre-sliced melons, pineapples, mangoes, and mixed fruit to retailers, airlines, and foodservice chains across the Americas and Europe.
The secret? Infrastructure. With a robust network of ripening rooms, cooling facilities, and dockside packing centres, it gets fresh products to market faster than most.
In 2025, it also expanded into compostable packaging and invested in automated slicing equipment, reducing waste and boosting shelf-life.
3. Total Produce (Dole Europe) — Quietly Feeding Europe
📍 Dundalk, Ireland
💰 Revenue: $3.9 billion
👥 *Employees: 9,000+
As the European arm of Dole plc, Total Produce quietly supplies a massive share of the EU’s supermarket fruit and vegetables. While it doesn’t often make consumer headlines, its role in logistics and distribution is crucial.
It operates through regional hubs in France, Germany, Spain, and Scandinavia — serving over 800 food retail and foodservice clients with tailored orders and tight delivery windows.
In 2025, its biggest growth came from grapes, apples, and citrus, alongside high-volume salad mixes for private label brands.
4. Greenyard — The Belgian Powerhouse
📍 Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Belgium
💰 Revenue: $4.3 billion
👥 *Employees: 8,500+
Greenyard has become a European anchor for fresh vegetables and convenience produce. It works directly with farmers to provide retailers with packaged, cleaned, and sliced products ready for display.
The firm’s 2025 success lies in its low-emissions warehousing, automated grading lines, and ability to offer tailored SKUs to retailers with ultra-short lead times.
It also expanded its fresh-to-frozen hybrid range, giving grocers flexibility during seasonal gluts.
5. Driscoll’s — The Global Berry Brand
📍 Watsonville, California, USA
💰 Revenue: $2.4 billion
👥 Employees: ~4,000 core; thousands of growers
Driscoll’s is different. It doesn’t try to be everything. It just dominates one space — berries — and does it better than anyone else.
Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries: Driscoll’s breeds them, packages them, and brands them for global markets. Their patented berry varieties are now sold in more than 20 countries.
In 2025, it launched drought-resistant lines, helping farmers in high-heat zones maintain yields. It also partnered with leading retailers in China and Australia to develop year-round berry programs.
6. Zespri — New Zealand’s National Fruit Hero
📍 Mount Maunganui, New Zealand
💰 Revenue: $3.0 billion
👥 Employees: ~700 (plus growers)
Zespri is one of the most polished branding success stories in fresh produce. It doesn’t just sell kiwifruit — it sells the idea of premium, traceable, climate-friendly fruit.
Its growers across New Zealand and Italy produce Green, Gold, and Red kiwis under strict quality control. In 2025, Zespri also introduced its “Sustainable Kiwifruit Standard”, including farm-level biodiversity metrics.
It now exports to more than 50 countries, with Japan and Korea as breakout growth markets.
7. Mission Produce — All In on Avocados
📍 Oxnard, California, USA
💰 Revenue: $1.4 billion
👥 Employees: ~3,000
Mission is what happens when you commit to one product — avocados — and scale it globally. From sourcing in Peru and Mexico to selling in London and Tokyo, Mission has built one of the most agile produce supply chains anywhere.
It owns ripening centres, operates its own branded packaging line, and has been pioneering refrigerated sea freight for ripe avocados — slashing waste and improving freshness.
In 2025, it expanded its EU business and introduced sustainable pulp packaging for grocers.
8. Bonduelle — Processed Meets Fresh
📍 Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France
💰 Revenue: $3.2 billion
👥 *Employees: 14,000+
Bonduelle may be best known for canned veg, but its fresh division has quietly become one of Europe’s most sophisticated.
The company now supplies pre-washed greens, microwavable legumes, and plant-based convenience foods to major EU retailers.
Its strength lies in adapting to dietary trends — organic, low-carb, vegan — and delivering full-solution packs that fit into busy lifestyles. Bonduelle is also a top supplier to institutional buyers like hospitals and schools.
9. NatureSweet — Tomato Royalty
📍 San Antonio, Texas, USA
💰 Revenue: $1.0 billion
👥 Employees: ~6,000
NatureSweet has built a brand around tomatoes. Not bulk Roma. Not foodservice trays. But snackable, branded, greenhouse-grown tomatoes with names like Cherubs and Glorys.
They grow everything in climate-controlled environments and sell via striking point-of-sale packaging. They’ve also been awarded for their commitment to worker welfare and social impact.
In 2025, NatureSweet added new SKUs for mini cucumbers and peppers, further expanding its high-flavour, high-margin niche.
10. Calavo Growers — Fresh and Processed in One Basket
📍 Santa Paula, California, USA
💰 Revenue: $1.2 billion
👥 Employees: ~3,500
Calavo operates at the intersection of fresh produce and foodservice-ready goods. It sells avocados by the truckload to grocers but also manufactures guacamole and salsa for retail and restaurants.
In 2025, the company invested in HPP (high-pressure processing) to extend guac shelf life without preservatives. It’s also one of the few US firms running dual-supply avocado and tomato facilities in both California and Mexico.
At-a-Glance Comparison
| Company | HQ | Revenue ($B) | Specialty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dole plc | Ireland/USA | 9.3 | Bananas, pineapples, vegetables |
| Fresh Del Monte | USA | 4.5 | Fresh-cut fruit, melons |
| Total Produce | Ireland | 3.9 | EU retail distribution |
| Greenyard | Belgium | 4.3 | Salads, convenience produce |
| Driscoll’s | USA | 2.4 | Berries |
| Zespri | New Zealand | 3.0 | Kiwifruit |
| Mission Produce | USA | 1.4 | Avocados |
| Bonduelle | France | 3.2 | Fresh veg + plant-based convenience |
| NatureSweet | USA | 1.0 | Tomatoes, greenhouse veg |
| Calavo Growers | USA | 1.2 | Avocados, guacamole |
Closing Thoughts: Where Fresh Food Goes From Here
These companies aren’t just feeding the world — they’re reinventing how fresh food is grown, moved, and consumed.
In 2025, success in fresh produce comes from a few key things:
Owning your logistics
Listening to consumer health trends
Investing in climate resilience
Building brands that stand for something
Having the flexibility to meet changing retail needs
What’s next? Think controlled-environment farming, AI yield prediction, plastic-free packaging, and regionalised supply hubs.
Whatever the future brings, one thing is clear: these companies will still be leading the pack.
