Some lessons can only be learned through experience.
There is only so much research, forecasting, and strategic planning that can be done before we must surrender our control to Mother Nature, fast-changing consumer demands, and other unforeseeable challenges that inevitably lie on the horizon. This means a vital part of learning the ins and outs of the industry is done actively on the job, through problem-solving conversations, collaboration, and signed purchase orders.
Church Brothers Farms thrives in such an environment, tackling each new launch and expansion with not only the decades of expertise that have made the company what it is today, but the willingness to learn, evolve, and push each category it enters to the next level.
“The learning component of doing it ourselves was quite beneficial to us, because it allowed us to discover the best ways to make a vertically integrated business work.”
Brian Church, Chief Executive Officer, Church Brothers Farms
“My dad and uncle have been in the business since the late ’60s, working for other companies before founding Church Brothers Farms together in 1999,” Jeff Church tells me as the team and I discuss the next crucial period of growth. “When I think about why they were successful, it’s because they cared about their customers. The key to our business has always been about giving customers what they want and being hyper-focused on taking care of them.”
This company-wide commitment is evident in Church Brothers’ 27 years of continued growth and industry excellence. Since 1999, the grower has rapidly fortified its portfolio, operations, and executive leadership team to deliver on its promise to be a reliable one-stop shop. Jeff, Chief Operating Officer, and his brother Brian, Chief Executive Officer, share a moment of honest reflection as they remember what it took to reach this goal.
“The road to being fully vertically integrated was slow. My dad and uncle started this company with just five people sitting around a desk selling produce,” Brian says, thinking back to the earliest days of Church Brothers Farms. “My father was very innovative and customer-oriented, and he had a vision for the future that still carries us forward today. With all of the moving parts of this business, what we’ve been able to accomplish is incredible. Today, you could be a great grower, but if you don’t get it right after that, it won’t mean anything. You’ve really got to coordinate the whole operation and get in sync to make the business work; and the crops don’t stop growing on the weekends—you’ve got to be thinking about it every single day.”
By following this dedicated path to vertical integration, Church Brothers Farms has elevated its standing as both a retail and foodservice partner, guaranteeing two of the most integral qualities for the buy-side: convenience and reliability.
"The key to our business has always been about giving customers what they want and being hyper-focused on taking care of them."
Jeff Church, Chief Operating Officer, Church Brothers Farms
“There’s a lot that goes into being a strong partner,” Brian explains. “I think one of the things that really sets us apart is our value proposition as a one-stop shop. Being fast, efficient, and competitively priced is quite an advantage to have. With Church Brothers Farms, retailers and foodservice operators can get everything they need in one stop, with the guarantee of great quality, price, and service.”
As part of its commitment to being a full-service operation, Church Brothers has strategically evolved into a vertically integrated grower-packer-shipper, honing its expertise in farming, harvesting, processing, and more to deliver the utmost quality to its partners.
“By having all of our growing operations under our umbrella, we are able to ensure the best quality for our customers, without sacrificing that quality for cost or speed. Making money is not the key to every decision we make,” Jeff adds. “We want to be efficient while also doing the job right for our customers.”
Brian and Jeff agree that this vertical integration blueprint wasn’t a masterpiece from its inception, but rather a constantly evolving strategy.
“When you start doing more things on your own as a company, it doesn’t mean you are good at it on day one. Sometimes it’s a multi-year process,” Brian notes. “The learning component of doing it ourselves was quite beneficial to us, because it allowed us to discover the best ways to make a vertically integrated business work. We’ve worked to become experts in every category we’ve taken on. It’s been a 25-year process, but you learn through the challenges and achievements. There are a million different layers to produce, and you can’t go to college to learn it.”
Over the past several years, Church Brothers Farms has strategically extended the boundaries of its geographical footprint, adding multiple new facilities and processing plants to the fold through a variety of tactical acquisitions.
Among these strategic moves was the company’s acquisition of key assets and operations of Mann Packing, which finalized in December 2025 and helped solidify Church Brothers’ leadership position in value-added vegetables. Accelerating the supplier’s long-term growth strategy, the acquisition immediately expanded Church Brothers’ annual volume with capacity to grow through the newly integrated Gonzales, California, facility—a 200,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art, fresh-cut plant touting 160,000 square feet of production and cold storage space, 40,000 square feet of offices, and 7.5 acres primed for future expansion.
As Tracy Carranza and Loree Dowse explain to me, this deliberate move positions Church Brothers Farms as one of the only suppliers with the scale and capability to deliver a full retail fresh-vegetable offering, from value-added cut vegetables and packaged salads to specialty items and a wide assortment of field-packed offerings.
“Produce is the original wellness space, so why not take our products in a direction that meets consumers where they are right now in the wellness arena?”
Loree Dowse, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Church Brothers Farms
“We want to become the leaders in innovation,” Tracy, Vice President of Retail Sales, chimes in, noting how the supplier’s portfolio is charting a new course for retailers. “We’re not setting out to follow everybody else; we want to set a new standard. Little Gems Salad Kits were our first venture into the salad kit space, but we have some incredibly unique products in the pipeline that are going to revolutionize a few categories. We want to be on-trend and resonate with the younger generation of consumers who are looking for something different.”
Recognizing salad kits as one of the biggest growth engines in produce, Church Brothers took the opportunity to expand its beloved Little Gems offering—a staple in foodservice operations—to retail shelves. After recently securing placement at multiple retailers throughout the country and ramping up its social media and influencer marketing strategies, the company is setting the stage for more success for the iconic line.
“Produce is the original wellness space, so why not take our products in a direction that meets consumers where they are right now in the wellness arena?” adds Loree, Vice President of Marketing and Communications. “Our Little Gems Salad Kits were a jumping point for that, and a great example of how we are intentionally separating our products from everything you see on the shelves right now.”
Tracy agrees, explaining how Church Brothers is leaning into iconography to more clearly communicate the positive attributes of fresh produce.
In doing so, the producer is taking a unique approach to brand visibility and department differentiation. Leaning into the aesthetically pleasing neutral colors currently dominating industries like fashion, home decor, luggage, and more, the company is putting a distinctive twist on the bright colors that have come to be associated with produce and its packaging.
“If you look at social media, people today are using the kitchen as a place to brag,” Loree laughs. “They want to show off what’s on their countertop and in their refrigerators. When it comes to what’s on the shelves in the department today, traditional produce packaging is very loud, with vibrant, bright colors. We took a very intentional and strategic approach, switching it up to align with the modern consumers’ lifestyle.”
Guided by this thoughtful packaging and merchandising blueprint, Church Brothers Farms is looking forward to revitalizing the sector with even more product innovations.
“We want to become the leaders in innovation. We’re not setting out to follow everybody else; we want to set a new standard.”
Tracy Carranza, Vice President of Retail Sales, Church Brothers Farms
“We’re taking some categories that have gone a little stale or haven’t seen new innovation in a while, and finding ways to breathe new life into them,” Tracy says before teasing a few ideas. “Some of these categories haven’t been elevated in decades. Nobody’s questioned: Is this the right flavor? Is this the best packaging? We’re excited to rethink every category and shake it up with products that make sense to today’s shopper.”
To achieve this, the company participates in dedicated innovation sessions with its buy-side partners, helping identify stagnant categories and using its multi-category expertise to introduce a fresh new experience for shoppers.
Charting its course ahead, the grower will further bolster its retail operations, supported by its entry into more niche categories through the acquisition of Mann Packing. As it has been for the past 27 years, Church Brothers Farms remains focused on expanding its value proposition and delivering on its promise to be a reliable one-stop shop.
“More than anything, you have to be nimble,” Brian explains as the conversation winds down. “If you’re nimble and you take care of your customers, opportunities will come along. We didn’t anticipate many of the milestones we’ve reached along the way, but because we stayed adaptable and took advantage of every opportunity we could, we’ve grown into a powerful one-stop shop.”
Through it all, one thing remains certain: Church Brothers Farms will continue growing, innovating, and expanding in the years to come—but most importantly, the nearly three-decades-old operation and the team that makes it successful are upholding their commitment to never stop learning. 
