Sun-Maid Growers of California is an American privately-owned cooperative of raisin growers headquartered in Fresno, California. Sun-Maid is the largest raisin and dried fruit processor in the world. As a cooperative, Sun-Maid is made up of approximately 850 family farmers who grow raisin grapes within a 100-mile (160-kilometer) radius of the processing plant. Sun-Maid also sources dried fruit beyond this geographical area. In 2012, Sun-Maid celebrated its 100th anniversary as a grower cooperative. Sun-Maid raisins are packaged in a red box featuring the “Sun-Maid Girl” wearing a red sunbonnet and holding a tray of fresh grapes. The grapes are picked at harvest time, usually late August to early September, and dried naturally in the sun, either by hand-picking them and laying them on paper trays or allowing them to dry-on-the-vine (DOV) for mechanical harvesting. After about 14 days, they are placed in bins and delivered to the Sun-Maid plant for processing, packaging, and shipping to customers throughout the United States and in more than 60 countries around the world.
