The Ugly Co. in Farmersville is a dried fruit manufacturer that uses mainly local fruits that might not have the appealing look for the table. Photo via Ugly Co.

A Central Valley dried fruit processor has been getting its products on more shelves and has an aim to save millions of pounds of fruit from going to waste.

Farmersville dried fruit snacks manufacturer The Ugly Company recently released its 2025 Sustainability Report, and has grown its footprint after landing its products in Sam’s Club stores.

CEO and Founder Ben Moore said the company has already accomplished so much in its time working with Sam’s Club, setting their sights on saving 100 million pounds of fruit by 2035.

Founded in 2018, Moore said The Ugly Co. has saved over 13 million pounds of fruit since then — about seven million of those pounds within the last year.

“We are on track for a ton of growth,” Moore said. “We had a huge amount of growth with Sam’s Club this last year. They are our biggest customer.”

He said they have saved 1.9 million pounds of fruit just with Sam’s Club alone.

Moore said they bought their plant in Farmersville in 2022 and completely renovated it. The site is spread over 23 acres, with about seven acres of industrial space and the remainder farmland.

The company has about 18 employees year-round, and adds another 60 employees during peak season.

 

Joining the club

The partnership with Sam’s Club began through a competition hosted by Walmart’s warehouse club called “Open Call,” where about 1,000 potential vendors are invited to headquarters each year to pitch their products.

Sam’s Club has a mission to sell more American manufactured products, with about 50 vendors winning a contract each year, Moore said.

He said that even though Sam’s Club and its part company Walmart are one of the biggest organizations in the world, the team members he works with are kind and The Ugly Co. has a great relationship with them.

The Ugly Co. has their products 445 Sam’s Clubs stores in the U.S., which has allowed them to make a new presence in other states including South Dakota, Utah and Colorado.

To gear up for the level of orders to supply Sam’s Club, they hired about 18 new employees on a seasonal basis.

Sprouts and CVS are two other customers that distribute Ugly Co. products nationally.

He said peaches are their No. 1 selling product. The crops grown in Farmersville are peaches, nectarines, apricot, plums and cherries.

They also receive mangos from Mexico.

Moore said the one of the biggest trends for consumers is the demand for products with no added sugar, chemicals and preservatives.

“That is a trend that is really working out for us,” Moore said. “Sam’s Club’s customers responded to it really well.”

Since the food is typically sourced locally, Moore said proposed tariffs that could make the market more competitive could actually benefit the company.

He said there are no plans to raise prices as the food and packaging are all domestically sourced.

 

Bill of health

According to The Ugly Co. Sustainability Report, in the first quarter alone, Sam’s Club helped prevent over 69.4 million gallons of water from going to waste by partnering with The Ugly Co.

Since 2018, The Ugly Co. has saved over 445 million gallons of water from being used for additional fruit production in the supply chain.

“It’s pretty amazing that we could put this fruit into the food system that’s already been grown and harvested, and there previously wasn’t a home for it and was just going to get tossed out,” Moore said.

He said technology is making their machinery more efficient which has allowed the company to stay competitive as well as keep their labor costs down.

Moore said The Ugly Co. has a great year of growth ahead of them, and even with everything going on in the world, he is happy to be in business and have customers that are making an impact.