River Ranch Fresh Foods, LLC is one of the Big Four fresh produce processors in the United States. With two major state-of-the-art processing and cooling facilities, one in Salinas, California, and one in El Centro, California, the company maintains year-round operations.

The origins of River Ranch are linked to one of the oldest lettuce-producing and shipping companies in the Salinas area, the Bruce Church Company. River Ranch, known originally as Fresh Western Marketing, has taken Salinas' strong agricultural heritage into the future by generating technological and marketing innovations. In 1994, the company was sold to The Albert Fisher Group, PLC, and in June 2002, a local group led by the executive team of River Ranch Fresh Foods acquired the company from Albert Fisher. River Ranch Fresh Foods, LLC is now locally operated by the senior management team, which provides clear direction and initiatives for the company.

River Ranch is the leading processor of private label and River Ranch salads, Popeye Fresh! spinach salads and River Ranch fresh-cut vegetables as well as a broad-line shipper of high quality commodity products to customers throughout North America.

With a 44% market share, River Ranch is currently a leading supplier of private-label value-added produce items in the US. River Ranch’s complete line of salads range from traditional garden salads and salad blends to complete salad kits, spinach salads and cabbage items.

River Ranch is the home of America’s top selling Popeye brand spinach. On the heels of the management buy-out, King Features Syndicate, a global leader in merchandising and licensing, signed an exclusive 20-year licensing agreement with River Ranch Fresh Foods, LLC. This agreement allows River Ranch to use the Popeye name and family of characters including the right to sell fresh salads and vegetable items throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico branded with the “Popeye & Friends” images and names. The Popeye brand offers the most complete, nationally distributed product line in the Fresh Spinach segment with six items.

River Ranch now offers over 23 different sizes of salad items in its product line. The company also provides the highest quality through proprietary harvesting methods and following a strict food safety process. River Ranch Fresh Foods was one of the original signatories of the CA Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement.

The company focuses on its position as a value-added shipper for both the food service and retail industries. While cut vegetables and packaged salads are a large part of River Ranch’s current business, the company still maintains a strong presence in the commodity business, supplying head lettuce, carton broccoli, carton cauliflower, and numerous other commodity items to the foodservice and retail industries.

River Ranch has always been very involved with the Salinas community and it has supported community events including the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, California Rodeo, Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital’s Children’s Miracle Network, National Steinbeck Center, Women’s Crisis Center, Special Olympics, California International Air Show, Monterey County Agricultural Education, 4-H, Future Farmers of America, Ariel Children's Theatre and Jacob's Heart.