The Ugly Company - Farmersville, CA
Achieving Zero Food Waste in the San Joaquin Valley
Within a 20-mile radius of Farmersville, California about 2-4 million pounds of fruit is thrown out every day, six days a week. That is equivalent to 40-80 truckloads of farm-fresh produce. The fruit is not used for human consumption for none other than a few cosmetic damages that deem it to be too “ugly” to put on store shelves.
Ben Moore, owner of The Ugly Company, witnessed this mass food waste every day while working as a truck driver in the Central Valley. Coming from a line of farmers four generations deep, Ben, an army vet, was no stranger to food production. What he was a stranger to was the immense food waste happening just outside his backyard.
As a truck driver, Ben would haul fruit from packing sheds, and he found himself eating this perfectly good fruit that would be discarded just moments after he took a bite. Ben knew something had to be done.
“I would sit there and just think, well hey if I’m eating the fruit, but we’re over here dumping out 150 to 200 loads a year just ourselves, that’s about 68 million pounds of fruit,” Ben said. “There’s got to be something better to do with it than just dump it out.”
Turns out, there was something better to do with it. In 2018, Ben’s company, The Ugly Company, was born. Today, Ben, who touts himself as “Big Ugly,” takes fruit that would otherwise be thrown out or fed to livestock, and repurposes it into dried fruit snacks.
The overall mission of the company is to achieve zero food waste globally. While that seems like a hefty task, Ben and his team already have a solid start in the Kingsburg area, which is known as one of the massive stonefruit production regions in California.
What started as just a grand idea has blossomed into a successful business venture that many people are happy to get behind, including national retailers like Whole Foods and Sprouts.
Not only is The Ugly Company contributing to less food waste, but the job opportunities the company has provided within the Central Valley have made an immense impact. The fruit is washed, processed, cut, and dried at their facility in Farmersville, and the town itself does not have another source of employment to the scale of The Ugly Company. Additionally, many of the workers now employed by The Ugly Company have a more stable, year-round job, rather than working seasonally.
It’s no secret that Ben received doubt from local farmers and businesspeople when he first started his business. He repeatedly heard that his idea was great, but the execution would be challenging. Yet, Ben was confident that he had all the tools needed to be successful.
“I’m a truck driver; I’m a welder; I’m a good mechanic,” Ben said. “But I also have some other skills. I have an MBA from Notre Dame, so I have accounting, finance, and marketing skills. Ultimately, all that stuff are tools in the toolbox.”
Another tool that was essential to bringing Ben’s idea to life was finding a financing institution that understood agriculture and the mission he was after – and that’s where Golden State Farm Credit came in.
“To have a good foundation of a company, you have to have the right people involved, whether that be employees or business partners, but you have to have the right investment,” Ben said.
Ben was introduced to Golden State Farm Credit through one of his investors and said he could immediately tell that the top-tier customer service at Golden State Farm Credit could not be replicated anywhere else.
For Golden State Farm Credit, providing financial support to Ben was an easy decision, too. Hearing Ben’s story and overarching mission, there was no doubt he is the perfect fit for what Golden State Farm Credit is looking for in a customer. His values of sustainability and community wellness align with Golden State’s values and make him an excellent candidate to receive the credit he deserves.
“The number one thing you need from a lender is someone that understands your business; that’s what Golden State brings, a true fundamental understanding of what we do,” Ben concluded.