Vegetable Growers

Delivered May 6th, 2019. Contributors: Prafful K., Sarah D., Emmanuel A. and

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Vegetable Growers Europe 1

Unfortunately, no publicly available sources could provide information on the top five vegetable growers in Europe by production volume. Based on our research, we were able to find a few of the vegetable growers in Europe and provided them in the spreadsheet as per the descending order of their revenue. Predmericka, Vitazel, Nedato B.V., Oldershaw Group, Burgess Farms, Kettle Produce, and Ardo N.V. are the large vegetable growers we were able to locate in Europe. Among these, the vegetable growers with the highest revenue are Ardo N.V., Kettle Produce, Nedato B.V., Vitazel, and Predmericka a.s. Among these five, Vitazel is the largest vegetable producer in Slovakia. Additionally, major players in the vegetable seed market in Europe include Monsanto, Syngenta, Takii Europe, ermaZaden, and Pop Vriend Seeds B.V. All the requested details have been compiled in the Europe tab of the attached spreadsheet. 

Below we have mentioned the details of our findings, strategy that we used to search the requested details, and an explanation of why the requested information was not available.

Top 5 vegetable growers in Europe1. Ardo N.V.:Revenue — $367.34 million 
It is located in Ardooie, West-Flanders, Belgium. 

2. Kettle Produce:Revenue — $181.97 million 
It is located in Balmalcolm, United Kingdom. 

3. Nedato B.V.:Revenue — $100.77 million 
It is located in Oud-Beijerland, Netherlands.

4. Vitazel:Revenue — $71.61 million 
It is located in Marcelová, Nitriansky kraj, Slovakia. 
Vitazel is the "biggest vegetable producer in Slovakia." 

5. Predmericka a.s.: Revenue — $7.90 million (EUR 7,061,014)
It is located in Predmerice nad Jizerou, Czech Republic. 


HELPFUL FINDINGSIn the European Union (EU), Italy has been the largest producer of vegetables with 420,000 hectares of production land (19.8%). The other most important European producer of vegetables in term of economic value is Spain.
As of 2015, in the European Union (EU), the main supplier of vegetables is Spain "with an export value of roughly 5.4 billion euros."
As of 2016, Italy is the leading supplier of fresh vegetables with a sales value of about 2.2 billion euros. 
In 2013, the vegetable seed market in Europe was $1958.33 million. It was expected to increase with a CAGR of 6.5% between 2017 and 2022.
Among all European countries, in 2015, "the Netherlands, Spain and Italy were the most important vegetable producing regions accounting for a major portion of the vegetable output."
Major companies operating in the vegetable seed market include Monsanto, Syngenta, Takii Europe, ermaZaden, and Pop Vriend Seeds B.V.


RESEARCH STRATEGYIn order to compile a list of the top five vegetable growers in Europe by production volume, we initially searched for a precompiled list through industry reports and statistical databases such as Statista, and others. But no precompiled list could be found. We also searched for a publicly available list of top vegetable growers in the US by sales or revenue. These sources provided the list of top European countries that produce vegetables which include Spain, Poland, Germany, and others. 

Next, we looked through various government sites, media reports, and press releases to see if any of these had lists of top or major producers of vegetables in Europe. The idea was to find the list of vegetable growers in Europe and then we could have ranked them according to their production volume or revenue. The sources we looked through include Eurostat, CBI Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and others. These sources provided various European countries and their vegetable production statistics and the information about the competition in the fresh fruit and vegetable market. The only source that listed a few of the European vegetable growers was Ezilon Europe. However, this was not an exhaustive list of growers and also included companies that provide market information, manufacturer & re-processor of dehydrated vegetables, specialists in plant breeding, and others. We were only able to sort out five vegetable growers from this list while looking through each of the company's website. Then we decided to look for their competitors through Owler, Craft.co, and others to find various other vegetable growers of Europe. But we were unable to find any of their competitors and therefore, this strategy failed.

Later, we decided to triangulate the answer through various market research reports. The idea was to search for major or key players in the vegetable production industry in Europe through sources such as Mordor Intelligence, Euromonitor International, Future Market Insights, Technavio Research, and others. Although these reports provided information on the market size, growth, and key players, it was only for companies operating in the fruits and vegetable market (fruit & vegetable ingredient market) and not the vegetable growers market. As such, this approach also failed. Mordor Intelligence report provided the information on the vegetable seed market and major players of this industry.

An in-depth search through the public domain was not successful in identifying the top growers or producers of vegetables in Europe by production or by revenue. The reason for the unavailability of this information could be that most of the growers in this industry are small entities (as per our findings) and the major players are not solely involved in vegetable production. They either produce both fruits and vegetables or might be involved in seed production, etc. This could be the reason why market research firms have not listed them separately. During our research, we found the list of top vendors in European seed market and also as mentioned above, the Mordor Intelligence report offered the market information on vegetable seed market and major players of this market. However, we did not use this list due to the reason that the request is specific to the vegetable growers in Europe.

In the absence of any publicly available list of top vegetable growers/producers in Europe by production volume, we decided to look for individual companies or growers operating in this sector. The idea was to identify any large or leading European vegetable grower and then to find its competitors. Apart from those that we found earlier from Ezilon Europe, during our research, we could only found a few vegetable growers located in Europe. These include Predmericka and Vitazel. From Ezilon Europe, we identified Nedato, Oldershaw Group, Burgess Farms, Kettle Produce, and Ardo N.V. Therefore, through our research, we were only able to identify seven of the vegetable growers in Europe. Based on our strategies mentioned above, no other vegetable growers in Europe could be identified; however, a number of other players from the vegetable seed industry were found. But they were not the growers. So, we could not include them.

Therefore, we decided to look for the production volume for each of the grower through their official website. However, their websites only provided information on the company, their products, story, etc. No information related to production volume was available on their websites. Later, we searched through media articles, press releases, and other relevant sources to see if the production volume was publicly available for these growers. However, no successful results were found. So, we decided to look for the estimated revenue of each of the listed growers in Europe through Hoovers and rank them accordingly on the attached spreadsheet.​ 

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Vegetable Growers Europe 2

 The  sixth, seventh, and eighth top vegetable growers in Europe are Oldershaw Group, Tompsett Burgess Growers, and Burgess Farms. Details of our findings can be read on the attached spreadsheet, in Columns B through G, Rows 6 through 8.
The Oldershaw Group UK grows approximately 100,000 tonnes of fresh vegetables each year. 
 The Oldershaw Group UK has over 40 years of experience in the industry, along with 90 individual SKUs. The group grows over 13,000 tonnes of onion each year, which is their preferred crop. 
The Burgess Farm was founded in 1898 by Harry and Percy Burgess. At the time, they began by growing vegetables in Peterborough Fens and running a fruit and vegetable shop in Richmond, London. 
The Burgess Farm has been family-owned and operated for the last four generations. 
Tompsett Burgess Growers grows approximately 84,000 tonnes of fresh vegetables each year. 
Clem Tompsett of Tompsett Burgess Growers, is known as the “King of Carrots” and has been farming carrots for over 50 years. The family company produces over 75,000 tonnes of carrots and 9,000 tonnes of parsnips a year. 
Our research team applied the following search strategyWe began our work on this report by reviewing the previous research in order to ensure consistency across projects. In so doing, we found that the first researcher was only able to identify seven large growers in Europe. As a result, we analyzed individual companies and growers operating in the region, with the goal of identifying any large or leading European vegetable growers and their competitors. 

To follow up on this, our team compared the previously compiled list and found that the growers Oldershaw Group UK and Burgess Farms had not been included in the already-completed report. Using industry databases such as Hoovers, we searched for and were able to find the revenue and tonnage for Burgess Farms. While the revenue was not available for the Oldershaw Group, we were able to identify the company's tonnage. 

In order to identify additional growers in the region, we conducted an exhaustive press search through industry and local publications. Through this, we were able to identify one additional grower in Europe: Tompsett Burgess Growers, which has been included on the attached spreadsheet.

We next turned to statistic and data websites focused on the industry and region in an attempt to identify additional growers in Europe. This led us to the World Vegetable Map, which we searched to find any listed growers throughout Europe. However, this map only provided us with areas where vegetables are grown and shipped to, without providing specific grower names. Following this, we reviewed government sites and press releases, such as Eurostat and the CBI Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the hope that this information might be available there. This provided us with a list of growers, but only those which we had already managed to identify. Using this information, we attempted to identify a list of competitors in the region using industry databases such as Owler, Craft, and Hoovers. However, no competitors could be found in this way. 

Ultimately, we were only able to identify three additional vegetable growers in Europe, for a total of eight in the region as listed on the attached spreadsheet. 

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Vegetable Growers US 1

According to our research, R.D. Offutt Co. is the topmost vegetable grower in the US with 63,800 acreages of production land followed by Grimmway Enterprises with 57,787 acreages land, D’Arrigo Bros. Of California, Inc. with 36,847 acreages land, Tanimura & Antle with 25,527 acreages, and Ocean Mist/Boutonnet Farms with 24,890 acreages land. All of these growers are located in California except R.D. Offutt Co. which is located in North Dakota. Among all top five of the vegetable growers, Grimmway Enterprises has the highest revenue of $2,171.41 million. We have ranked these growers based on their revenue. All the requested details have been compiled in the US tab of the attached spreadsheet. 
 Top 5 vegetable growers in the US1. Grimmway Enterprises: Revenue — $2,171.41 million 
It has 57,787 acreages of production land. The main crops of Grimmway Enterprise include beans, carrots, potatoes, and mixed organic vegetables.
2. Tanimura & Antle:Revenue — $682.46 million 
It has 25,527 acreages of production land. The main crops of Tanimura & Antle include anise, artisan lettuce, Romaine, beets, bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, cilantro, endive, escarole, kale, leeks, lettuce, napa, parsley, spinach, and strawberries.
3. D’Arrigo Bros. Of California, Inc.:Revenue — $239.19 million 
It has 36,847 acreages of production land. The main crops of D'arrigo Bros. of California include 	fennel, broccoli, cauliflower, mix lettuce, head lettuce, and romaine.
4. R.D. Offutt Co.: Revenue — $209.55 million 
It has 63,800 acreages of production land. The main crops of R.D. Offutt Co. include potatoes and organic vegetables.
5. Ocean Mist/Boutonnet Farms:Revenue — $12 million 
It has 24,890 acreages of production land. The main crops of Ocean Mist/Boutonnet Farms include broccoli, cauliflower, celery, fennel, head lettuce, mix lettuce, spinach, artichokes, and others.
RESEARCH STRATEGYIn order to compile a list of the top five vegetable growers in the US by production volume, we initially searched for a precompiled list through industry reports and statistical databases such as Statista, and others. But no precompiled list could be found. We also searched for a publicly available list of top vegetable growers in the US by sales or revenue. These sources provided the list of top 10 US states and their production area for vegetables and a few other information related to the vegetable market in the US.  

Next, we looked through various government sites, media reports, and press releases to see if any of these had lists of top or major producers of vegetables in the US. The sources we looked through include ERS USDA, APEDA, FAO.org, PMA, Vegetable Growers News, Growing Produce, Green House Growers, and others. These sources provided the list of top greenhouse growers and other general information on crops. Growing Produce was the only source that provided the list of top vegetable growers of America (North, West, Southeast, and Southwest separately). The list included the production acreage and not the production volume; however, this list was from the year 2014. And, a search for the latest sources was not successful.

In the absence of any currently published list of top vegetable growers/producers in the US by production volume, we decided to triangulate the answer through various market research reports. The idea was to search for major or key players in the vegetable production industry in the US through sources such as Grandview Research, Transparency Research, IBIS World, and others. Although these reports provided information on the market size, growth, and key players, it was only for companies operating in the fruits and vegetable market and not the vegetable growers market. As such, this approach also failed.

An in-depth search through the public domain was not successful in identifying the top growers or producers of vegetables in the US by production. The reason for the unavailability of the information could be due to the reason that the "vegetable farming in the US industry has no companies with major market shares." Due to the limitations in the production of vegetables, US imports a large share of vegetables. The only useful source (Growing Produce) we found in our research that provided the direct information was from 2014. In the absence of any other useful source, we decided to use this information to compile the list of top five vegetable growers in the US. As of now, California is the leading state in vegetable production and most of the growers listed by Growing Produce are located in California. This list might be useful for the current period as well and would be a good alternative in the absence of any currently published data. 

The source has ranked the growers based on acreage for all four regions (North, West, Southeast, and Southwest). We have compiled a final list of top five growers with the maximum acreage available out of all four regions. Then, we tried to find the production volume for each of the grower through their official website. However, their websites only provided the information on their products and history. No information related to production volume was available on their websites. Later, we searched through media articles, press releases, and other relevant sources to see if the production volume was publicly available for these growers. However, no successful results were found. So, we decided to look for the estimated revenue of each of the listed growers in the US through Hoovers and rank them accordingly on the attached spreadsheet. 

Please note that the list provided by Growing Produce was an exhaustive list of top 100 growers of America ranked according to their acreage of production and it was not possible to find out each one's revenue to rank them. So, we identified the top five growers from the list of 100 based on their acreage of production and then ranked those five according to their revenue in our final list that has been provided in the attached spreadsheet.

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Vegetable Growers US 2

The next top 5 vegetable growers in the US are Hartung Brothers, Inc., J.G. Boswell, Black Gold Farms, Nunes Vegetables, Inc., and Pero Family Farms. They are ranked in order of the size of their 

production land, with revenue serving as the deciding factor where the size of the companies' 

production land is equal. The required details have been entered into the attached spreadsheet. 
NEXT TOP 5 VEGETABLE GROWERS IN THE US
1. Hartung Brothers, Inc. 
Production land: 21,200 acres  
Revenue: $120 million 
The main crops of Hartung Brothers include cucumbers, carrots, 

peas, and snap beans.

2. J.G. Boswell			
Production land: 20,000 acres 
Revenue: $594.54 million 
The main crop of J.G. Boswell is tomatoes. 

3. Black Gold Farms 	
Production land: 20,000 acres 
Revenue: $317.15 million 
The main crops of Black Gold Farms include potatoes, and green 

beans. 

4. Nunes Vegetables, Inc. 
Production land: 19,223 acres 
Revenue: $2.39 million 
The main crops of Nunes Vegetables include lettuce, cauliflower, celery, broccoli, leaf lettuce, Romaine, green onions, asparagus, strawberries, and organic vegetables.

5. Pero Family Farms
Production land: 18,900 acres 
Revenue: $76.3 million 
The main crops of Pero Family Farms include beans, cucumbers, 

peppers, and squash.

Research Strategy:In order to be consistent with the findings of the previous 

research, we maintained the research strategy of the previous 

research to determine the next top 5 vegetable growers in the 

US by using the same source, Growing Produce. However, ranking the companies by revenue would have provided an incomplete list. 

Hence, we decided to rank the companies by the size of their 

production land as this provides a list of land sizes in 

descending order. Where we have two companies with the same size of production land, as is the case with J.G. Boswell and Black Gold Farms, we used their revenues to determine which company to rank higher.

In order to compile a list of the top five vegetable growers in the US by production volume, we started by searching for a precompiled list of top companies through industry reports and statistical databases like Statista. We also looked for publicly available lists of top vegetable growers in the US by sales or revenue. We only found a list of top 10 US states and their production area for vegetables as well as other information regarding the vegetable market in the US.

Next, we explored several government sites, media reports, and press releases to see if any of these had lists of top or major producers of vegetables in the US. The sources we looked through include ERS USDA, APEDA, FAO.org, PMA, Vegetable Growers News, Growing Produce, Green House Growers, and others. These sources provided the list of top greenhouse growers and other general information on crops. Growing Produce was the only source that provided the list of top vegetable growers of America. The list included the size of production land and not the production volume. However, this list was from the year 2014 and a search for more recent sources did not yield any positive result.

In the absence of any recent publicly available data on the top vegetable growers in the US by production volume, we decided to triangulate the answer through various market research reports. We wanted to find the key players in the vegetable production industry in the US through sources such as Grandview Research, Transparency Research, and IBIS World. Although these reports provided information on the market size, growth, and key players, it was only for companies operating in the fruits and vegetable market and not the vegetable growers market.

An exhaustive search through the public domain was not successful in identifying the top growers or producers of vegetables in the US by production. The reason for the unavailability of the information could be because the "vegetable farming in the US industry has no companies with major market shares". Due to the limitations in the production of vegetables, the US imports a large amount of vegetables. The only useful source we found which provided direct information about companies that produce vegetable was Growing Produce, with information from 2014. In the absence of any other useful source, we decided to use this information to compile the list of the next top five vegetable growers in the US. 