Ready Pac Produce, Inc. is one of the leaders in the area of fresh-cut produce. The company is headquartered in California, USA.

History
Ready Pac was founded in 1969 by Dennis Gertmenian. The inspiration for Ready Pac’s products came when Dennis’s father requested ready-to-eat salads for his produce business. During that time, Dennis’ father was away on a vacation and the customers’ urgent request was something that they had never done before.

In order to not lose customers, Dennis bought French knives, cutting boards and a bathtub for washing the produce. Ultimately, Dennis was able to comply with the urgent orders and thus began Ready Pac.  The company’s first facility was located in the city of Pasadena, California.

After a few years of operation, the company was able to afford modern equipment for processing its products. In 1978, after solely focusing on food service, Ready Pac entered the retail market. Once the company’s products were on retail displays, they began to gain a significant number of consumers who patronized them. This marked the start of Ready Pac’s major growth.

In 1990, the company went into partnerships with European companies who ere considered to be leaders in the technology of fresh-cut produce packaging as well as processing. The partnership led Ready Pac to produce the now popular “European style” salad blends. These salad blends helped Ready Pac introduce a new line of salad varieties that have currently become a large part of packed salads in the United States.

In 2004, Ready Pac merged with Tanimura and Antle’s Salad Time. This merger gave Ready Pac an opportunity to serve new customers in the Southeast and Midwest Regions. From 2006 to 2007, the company was able to complete an expansion program worth $30 million to enhance its Florence and Irwindale facilities.

Today, Ready Pac offers a wide variety of packaged salads, mixed vegetables and sliced fruits. Foodservice operators, supermarket chains and food retail stores are now among the company’s customers. Ready Pac also produces salad products for private labels. Among the company’s well-known customers are Trader Joe’s and Costco. Ready Pac’s operations is not only limited to the United States, as its products also reach Canada.

Stats
Headquarters: Irwindale, California
Ownership Type: Private
Employees: 2,500
Geography:  USA, Canada
Demography: foodservice operators, supermarket chains, food retailers

Brands
Ready Pac®

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